And Baby Makes Three?
by Cassiesmum02
Summary: Newlyweds Jax and Sarah finally bring baby Abel home and try and start on their lives. With a trial in their very near future how easy can wedded bliss be? I suck at summaries!
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. I'm not that horrible…here you all go

"What the fuck!" Both Clay and Jax's voice make me lift my head the confusion in their vocal tones enough to make me wonder what's going on.

Looking over Al's shoulder it takes several seconds before I realise that I'm not looking at a ghost, or a mirage. "Cam? Cammy?"

Al spins around her eyes like saucers in her face when she sees Cam standing just inside the front door, Happy to her left. "What's going on? Who died?"

"You did." I manage to say getting control of my muscles and crossing the room to her, wrapping my arms around her neck. Al comes up on the other side of me and wraps her arms over mine around Cam's shoulders while she looks between us confused.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?"

I shake my head against her cheek a few tears still silently sliding down my face.

Jax clears his throat "Before we explain anything Cam you need to ring your dad and let him know that you're fine."

Cam raises an eyebrow but pulls out of our arms grabbing her phone out of her pocket "Okay, why am I ringing him at 1 in the morning New York time?"

Clay clears his throat "Because if you don't he's going to get a phone call from the Charming PD telling him that you're dead."

Cam stifles a gasp and pulls her phone from her pocket, ringing her father "Daddy, sorry to ring so early in the morning but I needed to tell you that I'm fine, something happened here and you're going to get a phone call saying different but I fine. I'll see you next week when I get home." She pauses for several seconds "Okay Daddy, I love you too."

Cam hangs up the phone and puts it back in her pocket "Right, tell me what the fuck is going on before I freak out even more."

Clay leans back in the arm chair, folding his hands over his chest and waiting while we all take seats again. Grabbing Cam's arm I drag her to the couch and sit her in the middle, Al and I taking the seats on either side of her. Jax sits on the arm of the couch beside me, his arm resting on my shoulder while Juice and Happy both bring chairs from the dining room and sit on them.

"I only know what Unser told me, which wasn't much. There was an explosion at the Ramada. Sarah's name was on the register and there was a female body found in the room."

"Fuck." Cam whispers quietly looking between Al and I "I haven't been back to the hotel since I came back to town. Friday night I was at the clubhouse with you guys. Last night I was Al most of the night. I wanted to see a Californian sunset before I left again so Hap took me up into the hills last night; we've only just come back."

Al shakes her head "We have been back to the hotel; we were there yesterday briefly to get the rest of my stuff."

Cam nods "That's right. We left your key card at the office when we left."

"But how did you know to come here?" Al asks with a confused tone.

Happy looks at Clay "We came past the Ramada on the way back into town, Cam was going to crash for a few hours but the place was a smoking wreck. We went to the clubhouse but there wasn't anyone there, we decided here was the next logical choice."

Clay shrugs "Makes sense, Al wasn't at the clubhouse and with Abel coming home today she knew someone would be here..."

Cam clears her throat "What happened?"

I squeeze her hand tightly, my knuckles turning white "David came in and told me that the room had exploded and they found a females body in there. I assumed it was you." I blink a few times and twist my head to look at Jax "Can you ring him and let him know it's not Cam, that way he doesn't waste his time."

Jax frowns but pulls his phone out of his pocket dialling the police station. The ½ dozen words he spits out at David are said through clenched teeth "Wasn't Cam, don't know who it was."

Cam holds mine and Al's hands tightly while she listens to what happened, her face paling when she realises that if it hadn't have been for her midnight ride she could have been in that room. "But who was it?"

Jax shrugs "Your guess is as good as ours. Hale clammed up before he could tell us anything else. What did the hotel look like?" He aims his question at Happy who frowns.

"The right side of it was still burning. The whole left side's gone. The only part that was still standing was the manager's office, only cause it's detached from the rooms. Couldn't tell shit about what happened or where it originated from, but whatever it was it burnt hot and fast."

Juice runs his hand over the sides of his shaved head "I'll see what we can find out."

Jax shakes his head "Cam's okay, what's the most important to for everyone to go get some sleep. The kid's coming home today and even though we're not having the party for a week Sarah does expect you all here for a family dinner at 7."

Clay chuckles shaking his head at Jax "Yeah I've heard all about it today. Your mother went completely nuts trying to get everything sorted for this dinner." Clay glances around the room "You gonna have enough chairs?"

I shake my head "Nope, but Miles knows to bring some from TM."

Aiming a look at Cam "You stay there." Getting to my feet I hug Clay tightly "Gem will be fine. She's done 99% of the organising for this dinner and the two parties I've given her free reign over I had hoped would sooth some ruffled feathers but obviously not?"

Clay shakes his head "Pumpkin it's gonna take more than a coupla parties for Gem to get over missing her son's wedding. I think letting her plan the delayed reception here is helping, she's turned into a drill sergeant over that, but you know Gemma. It'll take her a while to get over it completely."

I nod and walk him to the door "I know Uncle Clay; I'm fully expecting to be in the dog box for a while longer."

Clay laughs as he hugs me tightly "The fact that I took off without telling her what the fuck was happening means I'll be joining you in that dog box pumpkin."

The phone inside rings at that moment and I roll my eyes at Clay "Wanna take bets on who that is?"

He shakes his head pushing me back inside "Go let her know I'm on my way."

Jax has already snatched up the phone before I make in inside, sliding one arm around his waist I pull the phone from his hand "Hey Gem, he's on his way. He'll tell you when he gets there. See you later, love you."

I hang up the phone and drop it back on the cradle standing in the warmth of Jax's arms for a minute "Today is going to be a long day."

Jax nods and hums in agreement "Let's go get some answers Darlin'. I think someone owes you some."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Cam's sitting on the chair when we come back in, Happy's leaning against the wall next to her and my eyes flick between the two questioning her.

She sighs and shakes her head "Don't get excited S. Hap and I are not a thing; we'll never be a thing."

I snort and roll my eyes "Okay Cammy, if you say so. Where are you staying if you've both checked out of the hotel?"

She shrugs "Al's with Juice at the clubhouse till all the stuff with houses is finished."

I widen my eyes and look over at her "I know exactly where Al has been staying. Where are _you_ staying?"

Cam looks up at Happy as if to get help but he just chuckles and shakes his head "Sorry, you're on your own with this one."

Cam sighs "At the clubhouse at the moment. I'm going to Bakersfield with Hap Wednesday, we'll be back Thursday. I thought maybe a fresh set of ideas for his mom might get her to think about moving here to be closer to her son."

Jax tenses slightly beside me "You okay with that killah?"

Happy's eyes are hard when he meets Jax's look "If she can get Ma to move then she's alright in my book. Ma's not doin' good but refuses to admit it."

Jax clamps his hand on my knee when I start to say something and I snap my mouth closed waiting while Jax finishes whatever it was he was thinking. There's several seconds of silence while Juice sits on the other end of the couch watching Al who hasn't shifted her eyes of Cam since we came back into the room.

"How bad is 'not doin' good' Hap. Do you need to be there?" Jax asks slowly.

Happy shakes his head, if not for the fact I know him well I'd be scared at the expression on his face but the obvious tension in his eyes is more due to his mom's health issues than anything. "Not doin' good in terms of the doc's give her 6 months if that." He looks down at Cam "She seems to think she'll be able to convince that stubborn woman that the best place to be is here."

I nod once "She's right. Cam can be very persuasive."

Happy and Cam look at each other and Cam laughs "He already knows."

Happy growls something about not wanting to leave his bed and I bite my lip to not point out the evidence of Cam's convincing him that's marked down the side of his arm, the three scratches coming from Cam's nails judging by the spot of what looks like dried blood under her middle fingernail.

Biting back on the yawn that tries to force its way out Cam suddenly sits up and looks at her watch "Shit, you guys need to go back to bed. It's almost 5am and you've got Abel coming home today."

Jax nods "We know someone had an attack of obsessive cleaning today. Can't you tell?"

Cam looks over at me "I doubt he's gonna notice if you dusted the back of the TV S."

I poke my tongue out at her and get up, crossing the room and hugging her tightly "If you're gonna insist that you and Hap ain't a thing, you might wanna let him know that leaving a huge ass hickey on your neck isn't gonna fly." I whisper in her ear giggling when she tenses in my embrace.

Al hugs her for just as long as I did, not letting go of her as the four of them walk towards the door. Hap stops just inside the door and looks over at me "We'll find out what happened cupcake."

I shake my head "Cam's fine, I don't give a shit about what happened. But Darby does need to be taught that you don't cook in Charming."

Jax reaches around and clamps his hand over my mouth "What she means is that she knows we'll get to the bottom of it."

I nod behind Jax's fingers and Happy chuckles as he jumps down the stairs "Sure bro, that's what she meant."

Cam pauses by the back of Happy's bike "Oh S, I used Jax's truck to take my clothes and shit to the plane before it left yesterday afternoon. All my furniture is staying for Al when her and Juice move in here."

I nod and watch as she waits for Happy to mount his bike before sliding on the back behind him. Al and Juice leave the drive before Hap's started the engine and I watch the few seconds of interaction between Happy and Cam before they leave as well.

Stepping backwards through the door I find Jax standing in the kitchen playing with the coffee machine "How do you set the timer on this babe?"

Laughing I reset the coffee machine to start at 10am so that we can get at least a few more hours sleep, Abel's not due to be released till after 3 and Gemma's not bringing the roast she brought over till 1.

Jax sets the alarm on his phone to go off at 945 before sliding back under the blankets and holding his arms open for me. Curling into his side I rest my head on his shoulder "Do you think Cam's fooling herself?"

"What'd ya mean Darlin'?" Jax asks, running his hand over my shoulder.

"Her and Hap not being a 'thing'. Happy's never taken anyone he's sleeping with to meet his Mom."

Jax shrugs, my head moving slightly with the movement "Dunno, but it's ain't your place to interfere. If they end up being more then it's their choice, there's nothin' you can do. I can't see Hap settling down with anyone, but you're right. He's never taken pussy to meet his Mom."

I slap his chest "I've met his mom, so has Gemma, and Donna."

Jax laughs and rolls over so I'm completely trapped in his arms "Babe, you're not pussy. You're his little sister."

I nod, my nose brushing his chest "I certainly have a whole lot of protectors don't I?"

Jax raises one of his eyebrows "Huh?"

"Well, there's Ope and Hap who are my big brothers. There's Uncle Clay, Bobby, Piney and creepy Uncle Tig. Then there's the not quite there yet with Chibs, Juice, Miles and Kip."

Jax laughs and nuzzles his nose into my hair "So I better take good care of you otherwise I'll have a whole hoard of brothers and uncles waiting to kick my ass."

I laugh and wiggle closer to him "You sure will baby. Now let me go to sleep, we've got a long day coming."

Jax kisses the top of my head lightly his arms tightening around me when I close my eyes, willing sleep to grab me again.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Jax's alarm going off startles me out of the deep sleep I'd dropped back into, but the sudden realisation of Abel coming home shoots through my brain making me more awake then I would have been after a pot of coffee.

I practically bounce out of bed, leaving the 'responsible parent' outfit I'd brought in New York for the day on the hanger I head towards the kitchen in Jax's shirt and my shorts that I'd ended up in when David showed up in the small hours.

I almost scream when I go into the kitchen and find someone sitting at the table reading the paper; it's recognising the platinum highlights that make me bite back the scream. "Morning Gem."

Gemma twists in her seat "Morning baby. I brought breakfast for you and Jax. Clay told me you might be a little fragile today."

I giggle, shaking my head and pulling the juice from the fridge "No, I'm okay. I wouldn't have been if Cam had actually been hurt." Pulling open the top of the bag Gemma brought I grin at her "Love you Grandma."

The half a loaf of Bobby's bread and the two huge blueberry muffins on the bottom of the bag look like they could easily feed a family of four for a couple of days. I hear Jax start moving around the bedroom, sticking my head into the hall I smile at him "Your mom brought us breakfast baby."

Jax nods in a half asleep way as he pushes open the bathroom door "K, I'll be out soon."

Jax appears in the kitchen doorway about 20 minutes later "What on earth is that shit hanging on the wardrobe door Darlin'?" 

Shrugging I pass him the muffin I'd warmed slightly "It's what I'm gonna wear to pick up Abel."

"Why? It looks like something a lawyer would wear." Jax drops down into his chair and picks up my glass of juice, draining it in four deep swallows.

"Cause it's my attempt at being responsible looking." I mutter making both Gemma and Jax laugh at me.

Pouting I pick up a blueberry off the edge of my muffin and flick it Jax making him laugh even more.

"Darlin' we're not being judged today. There's no jury that's going to execute you if you don't fit a mommy-mould."

Gemma nods and reaches over the table "Why don't you show me what you were going to wear baby and we'll see if we can work it to be more like you. Don't start being a parent with false impressions on anyone."

I roll my eyes "Okay." Gemma and I head down the hall and into the master bedroom which looks strangely empty with the pictures off the walls and gone, the few ornaments are missing as well and there are specks of dust floating in the air from the empty side of the wardrobe.

"It looks strange in here." Gemma comments as she cocks her head to the side taking in the dress pants and white button up shirt I'd planned on wearing. "You can't wear that shit. Jax's is right; you'd look like you should be going into a court room."

I wave my arm at the wardrobe where everything that's left at Jax's is still hanging "Well that's what I have here to work with."

Gemma flicks through the hangers "Easy as baby, you have enough here that we can make an outfit that looks Mommyish and just like you."

I smile at her "Okay, I'll leave you to work it out while I got finish my breakfast before your son steals it if I'm not already too late."

Gemma waves me out of the room and I end up back in the kitchen just as Jax reaches for the muffin on my plate "Hold it mister! That's mine."

Jax lifts his hand off the muffin and smiles guiltily at me "Sorry babe, it's just you weren't here and I was still hungry and that looked really good."

Rolling my eyes at him I break it in half and hand the smaller half to him "Do you want some toast as well?"

Jax stuffs a corner of the muffin in his mouth nodding his head and lifting his empty coffee cup.

Taking his cup out of his hand I wait till I'm at the counter cutting the bread before rolling my eyes. Dropping the bread into the toaster I refill his cup and take it back to the table. Passing it to him he smiles "Thanks Darlin'."

Gemma comes back into the room a few minutes later with a smile on her face "Better outfit now on the bed for you. But do me a favour; don't try and be someone you're not. Ever. We all love you exactly as you are."

I nod with a laugh "Yes Gem. Thank you."

She shrugs "The meat is in the fridge, I came over early cause I got behind with paperwork at the office last week with controlling the work force at your house."

I give her a tight hug before she leaves "See you about 4?"

Nodding she rests her hand on the doorknob "I'll be here at 5 with Neeta and the rest of the food we've done. You just have to cook the meat and roast some potatoes. We've got the salads and sides sorted. Oh, and make something for dessert."

I flick my eyes to Jax and sigh lightly when she closes the door behind her "So much for a quiet day."

"You coulda said no babe, she's not gonna hold it against you if you don't wanna do something."

I shake my head as the toaster pops "It's not that I don't want to do it at all baby, it's that baking means I'll be making a mess in my spotless kitchen."

Jax laughs "Only you would be upset about making a mess. We can clean it, it's not like you're not gonna be cooking in here for at least another week."

I poke my tongue out at him and giggle when he frowns at me, picking up his toast I bring it to the table and set it on his plate "I know that, it's just that it was so clean in here. What do you want for dessert?"

"Cupcakes." The voice from the doorway startles me having not heard the bike pull up. Looking up into Happy's dark eyes I sigh.

"Cupcakes it is."

Happy smirks "Good girl. Jax, Clay needs you at the clubhouse and you weren't picking up your cell."

I get a rapid kiss dropped on my forehead as Jax shoves his arm in his kutte and snatches one of the bits of toast off the plate "Love you babe, see you at the hospital if I don't make it back before then."

I nod and listen to the sound of the two bikes leaving before sitting down in Jax's abandoned chair I lean my forehead on the table for a couple of seconds before sitting back and looking around the empty room.

Finishing my muffin and coffee first I go back to the bedroom, casting a glance at the clothes Gemma's left on the bed I chuckle lightly, the only part of what I'd planned on wearing that's left is the shirt. Leaving Jax's shirt on I pull a pair of faded jeans on my legs and jam my feet into my sneakers, snatching my bag and Jax's car keys off the table as I go out the door heading for the market and supplies for baking I frown at the empty spot where my Nitro should be making a mental note to ask Jax what's happening with it and when I'm likely to get it back.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. I've just created the Photobucket folder for the photos from this story. Link is on my profile page. :-) And does anyone know what Happy's mom's name is...I have a one shot challenge to write.

By the time I sit down later that afternoon I feel accomplished. The whole house has been cleaned again, Abel's crib has been made up with the pale blue sheets I rewashed when I got back from the market, the house smells like chocolate, orange, vanilla and strawberries and roasting beef, everything is ready for dinner. I'd made four batches of cupcakes before looking in the fridge at the roast Gemma brought, the piece of beef looks like it could have been an entire cow at some point so it was put in the oven almost as soon as the last batch of cupcakes came out.

Leaning my head against the back of the chair I close my eyes for a second but become aware really quickly of someone watching me. My eyelids snap up and Donna laughs when I scream, her green eyes inches from my face.

"I was starting to think you'd died." She says around her giggles.

Jabbing my finger into her arm I move so I'm sitting up properly, curling my feet under me "Thanks for coming over D. I didn't want to leave the oven on while I was gone. Knowing my luck something would happen and the house would burn down."

Donna shrugs "No probs S. Go spring the boy."

Getting to my feet I shake my head "I'm gonna go have a shower and get changed first. Don't think this is really good to go to the hospital in." The shirt I was wearing is splattered with a dusting of flour and a smear of frosting. "If I'm not back out in 20 minutes come get me."

Donna nods and heads to the kitchen "I'll make a fresh pot of coffee; you look like you could do with one."

Squeezing her neck in a hug I nod against the side of her face "Love you D."

Brushing me off she laughingly calls "Go shower, you smell like sugar and meat. It's really weird."

19 minutes later I'm back in the kitchen, showered and dressed in the jeans, white dress shirt and under bust corset Gemma had left out for me, my bright white heels on my feet. "Did Al drop off the car seat?"

Donna nods "It's in the car. Ope put it in."

"Thanks. I don't know how long we'll be. Hopefully Jax'll be there but I'm not holding my breath."

Donna pushes me towards the door with a chuckle "Go. I'll keep an eye on dinner and I'll even be good and not eat all the cupcakes I spotted."

I bounce down the stairs "You can have some of the ones in the pantry. Clear container with a blue lid."

Donna claps happily, turns around and kicks the door closed behind her. Snorting with laughter I check the car seat in the back of the Ram before climbing into the front seat and heading towards the hospital.

Abel's due to have his finally tests at 3pm and by 245 when Jax still isn't there I'm starting to pace the floor of the neo-natal room. Anne knocks quietly on the opened door, stepping through with another pile of papers in her hand and an apologetic look on her face.

"I hate doing this part. The hospital admin is on her way up to talk about the bill for Abel's care."

I sit down on the armchair in the corner "What do you mean? Doesn't Jax's health insurance cover it?"

"Most of it, but there's a shortfall which will be explained to you when she gets here." Anne smiles at me "Try and be nice, she's a bitch."

I groan "Great. Thanks."

Shrugging she gets to her feet and hands me the papers "This is your copy of the rest of the notes for your records. I'll take Abel over and we'll get the last bits done. Don't worry Mom, no breathing tests today. Its reflexes, O2 and heart rate, that's it. No nasty masks, just a sensor on his finger and a couple of taps on his joints."

Anne picks Abel out of his cot and carries him across the hall, the door swinging closed as a short redhead appears in the door of Abel's room. "Oh sorry, I was looking for Mr Teller."

I get back to my feet and smile "He's not here yet. I'm Mrs Teller; Nurse Richards said you had the final paperwork and accounts."

Clearing her throat in a startled way the woman nods "I didn't know Mr Teller was married."

My smile widens "He wasn't until 5 days ago, but I am on all the forms for Abel, it'll be under Sarah Hale."

"Right, sorry. My names Margaret Murphy, I'm the hospital administrator. We just need to sort out the payment for what Mr Teller's insurance doesn't cover."

I nod and hold my hand out for the couple of pages in her hand "So what sort of amount are we looking at?"

Looking down at the pages she flicks through to the last one "The total amount for you is 14 thousand dollars. We can arrange a payment plan if that's easiest for you."

I shake my head "No it's fine. Card, cheque or bank transfer, which is easier?"

"Oh, umm, whichever." She sounds slightly startled.

Jax steps through the door as I reach for my bag "What's up Darlin'?" He crosses the room in a couple of steps and wraps his arms around me, kissing me thoroughly and slowly.

It takes a few seconds after he lets go of me for my brain to start functioning again "Hospital bill. What's not covered by insurance?"

Jax frowns slightly "How much is it?"

"14 grand." I lean against his chest, completely ignoring the stuck up woman who can't take her eyes off the kutte on Jax's back "Do you wanna pay for it, I was going to seeing I was here."

Jax nods and kisses me again, letting go of me and turning towards the now disbelieving looking woman "Let's get this bill paid so I can take my son home."

Jax grins at me and follows her out of the room calling over his shoulder "Back in a minute babe, don't leave without me."

Blowing a raspberry at his retreating figure I'm brought back to the tiny room Abel's in when the door opens again and Anne steps out, holding him in her arms. "All done, Dr Namid will be around soon to go over any questions you may have and to let you know what to expect over the next few days." She smiles and hugs me lightly after settling Abel in my arms "Come back and visit won't you?"

I nod and squeeze her "I will. I'll bring him back to see you all whenever I'm here."

She swipes a random tear from her eye and smiles wider "I always get teary when a patient goes home. He's in good hands. Now, a few things you might want to know. He's not quiet sleeping through the night, if you give him a bottle at 8 then put him to bed he'll be up at 4 to have another one, but then he'll go back to sleep till 6. It's completely normal for him to sleep longer than most babies. He loves baths but hates water on his face; likewise he loves that pale blue beany but doesn't like the black one. Ironic given they're the same material."

I shrug "His father is the same, has two identical shirts but doesn't like one of them."

Anne laughs "Okay, last thing, if he has a nap, which he normally does twice a day; don't let him sleep for more than 2 hours otherwise he's a little grumpy bum for the rest of the day. Naptime round here for him was 10am and 2pm. He's been sleeping shorter periods in the morning so maybe move the 10am nap till 1030 and leave him for an hour."

Anne leaves the room not long after and I'm literally left there holding the baby. I'm not alone for long, Jax arrives back a few minutes later, his forehead creased "I got the whole print out of what we paid for, apparently my insurance only kicks in after a certain amount and each of the surgeries is listed as a separate thing. Can you get Patrick to double check it?"

I nod "Sure baby. You wanna make sure you haven't paid for something that should have been insurance?"

He nods "Yeah, though the insurance company paid a huge amount, like the cost of a business kinda amount."

My eyes widen and he passes me the bill, the 80 day hospital stay has cost almost a million dollars. "I'm really glad your insurance covered most of this."

Jax laughs and plucks Abel out of my arm, curling him into his elbow "Yeah, but if it hadn't of it wouldn't have been an issue."

I nod silently thinking "I'll be back in a second." I dart out the door before he can say anything, finding Anne in the nurses station alone is a godsend. "Anne, I wanted to ask a question."

"Sure, what?" She pushes the chart that she was looking at away and waves me to a chair.

"What happens to parents who can't afford the overflow of bill, or don't have insurance?"

Anne shrugs "I don't know. I know there are some charities that will help and that the hospital does do payment plans. Why?"

"Can you get me the names of those charities?" I smile at her, my plan solidifying slightly, if I can work the logistics of it.

"Sure." She opens a draw and pulls out a few pamphlets "These are the two that help, the third one is for a support group for parents of prem babies and the fourth one is something I should have put in that file and forgot it's like an FAQ of what to expect as a first time parent."

I get back up and hug her again "Thanks."

Returning to Abel's room I slide in just behind Dr Namid who's already talking. Jax is smiling hugely and nodding. The doctor turns to me and holds out his hand "It was lovely seeing a baby with such a huge extended family, now take him home."

My face just about splits in two at the size of the smile that hits my lips "Thank you. More than you know thank you."

Jax carries Abel down to the car and fusses with the car seat for a minute before I laugh "Baby, Ope put it in. He's got two kids of his own, I'm sure it's right."

Jax leans his forehead against the doorframe "I know, I'm just nervous. Clay had to talk me out of getting an escort for you home. I wanted him, Ope and Tig here."

I laugh and wrap my arms around his middle, resting my cheek against his chest "It's okay, I get how nervous you are, but I have a roast beef in the oven and a best friend who's probably demolishing the cupcakes I left."

Jax pulls his head away and looks down "Cupcakes? Now you're talkin'."


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. In case anyone was wondering I will be doing an update once a day on this.

The drive seems remarkably full when I pull the Ram into it a little after 330, both Donna's and Gemma's cars are there, Donna's in the drive and Gemma's parked on the grass out the front. The space for the Ram is empty but there's two bikes parked next to Gemma's truck easily identified at Opie's and Clays.

There's a level of noise from inside the house that startles me a little as I lift Abel in his seat from the base "Can you go inside and ask them to tone it down a bit, Abel's sleeping."

Jax nods and throws open the door shouting "Quiet you lot."

Rolling my eyes when Abel's eyes blink open I shake my head lightly looking down at him "Daddy's a little slow. You'll have to give him a chance to catch up."

The tiny yawn that comes out makes me laugh when Jax comes back down the stairs "What's up babe?"

I look over at him "You're shouting woke him up."

I'm barely in the door when Donna lifts him from the seat and carries him through to the kitchen, Clay, Gemma and Opie all sitting at the table already. Donna sits down at the empty chair holding Abel against her chest and talking quietly to him. The grin that crosses Opie's face makes me laugh.

"Ope just remember, he's mine." I tell him setting the car seat on the bench and pouring coffee into cups for Jax and I.

Jax appears beside me and looks at the seat "What's that?"

I look over and then back at him "Al decorated it for me. Is it okay?"

Jax grins, the tiny Anarchy symbols on either side of the rubber hand point of the car seat are only noticeable if you're looking. "That's awesome."

I nod "Wait till you see the pushchair. It's..." I trail off, my eyes fixing on Donna "Was the pushchair in the hotel?"

Donna shrugs "Dunno, you'll have to ask Al when she gets here."

Al laughs from the door behind me "No it wasn't, it was at TM, it's in back of my car outside." Spinning on my heel to look at her she smiles at me "We went and picked up the car Juice brought me. Do you want me to go get it? You can come gush over the car when you're not stressed about a whole lot of people arriving for dinner soon."

I smile at her as I nod heading down the hall and undoing the 4 hooks on the front of the corset as I go. Throwing it onto the bed with a sigh, returning to the kitchen the first thing I do is put on one of my aprons before cracking the oven door to check the beef in there "What time's everyone getting here Gem?"

"8, is that gonna be ready, I know it was huge."

Pulling the roasting pan out of the oven I set it on the top "It's almost cooked now, I wanted to make sure it was well and truly ready. I'll put it back in about 30 minutes before everyone gets here to finish cooking and heat all the way through."

Gemma and Clay head off a few minutes later, Gemma telling me she's already put the salads in the fridge and they'll be back at 730 with the rest of the sides. Clay shaking his head and following his wife out the door, her voice already listing the things she needs to order for the proper party and the wedding reception.

While I think about it I ring Elliot quickly and ask him if it would be possible to have the reception she's planning on his farm. The laughing congratulations and assurance it'll be fine make me relax and I flick a text to Gemma letting her know that the venue is booked for her bound to be over the top party.

Abel starts squeaking in Donna's arms "Think he's hungry S."

I roll my eyes and get up, pulling the bottles, formula and kettle towards me. Making up a bottle with the still warm water I scoop him out of her arms and stick the rubber teat in his mouth, the rapid suckling sounds making me laugh.

Donna cocks her head to the side, before shoving her hand in her bag and pulling out her camera. Calling my name I look up right as she takes a photo. Poking my tongue out at her she shrugs "It's cute."

Walking through to the living room I sit down on the armchair and wait while everyone follows me, Al appears in the door a few minutes later with the pushchair in front of her "All done, where do you want it?"

"Jax. Come see what Ali did." I call winking at her.

Jax comes through the door and looks down at the black pushchair "Fuck, that's better than the car seat."

The once plain black pushchair now has a silver anarchy symbol over the cover for the removable carry cot. "I was going to do the reaper but it wouldn't have worked well on the material."

Jax shakes his head "Al, that's awesome."

Al smiles and bows slightly "Happy to be of service. Now, I'm going to go sleep for a while, I didn't go back to sleep after this morning's rude awakening. S, ring me at 7 to make sure I'm up for dinner?"

I nod and wave at her from my chair, Abel still happily sucking on his bottle. Al gives me an awkward hug, leaning over the side of the chair and telling me again to ring her later to make sure she's awake. Donna and Opie all leave not long after, leaving just Jax, Abel and I sitting in the living room.

Looking over at Jax he shakes his head "So what do we do now?"

I can't help but laugh at the clueless look on his face "Now, we completely forget everything we think we learnt about children and start fresh learning about Abel."

Jax laughs "Forgetting everything is easy babe, I have no clue about babies anyway. Ellie and Kenny were only ever screaming bundles."

Pulling the now empty bottle from Abel's mouth I adjust him and rub his back slowly till he burps right by my ear. "First lesson Daddy, how to change a diaper."

Jax wrinkles his nose but follows me to Abel's room where everything is sitting on the sideboard. Sliding down so I'm sitting on the floor I nod towards the cabinet "Pass me that big blue blanket please baby."

After putting the change mat on the floor it takes me a few minutes to get Abel's nappy changed, making Jax watch everything I was doing the main reason it took so long. "Now you can have the next dirty one."

Jax grimaces but nod, picking Abel up and hugging him to his chest, reaching down and pulling me to my feet "Do you need any help with dinner?"

I shake my head "No, but you can come keep me company unless you've got stuff you need to do."

Shaking his head he follows me through to the kitchen, sitting down at the table with Abel "What am I meant to do now?"

I laugh at the complete confusion on his face "Wait there a second." Going back to Abel's room I pick up one of the few books still left behind and take it back to the kitchen "Read to him."

Jax lifts the book the cartoony looking bus on the front of the book "Where did this come from?"

I smile over at him, setting the bag of potatoes that Gemma dropped off on the bench "I picked it up from Barnes and Nobel when we were in New York."

Jax opens the front cover of the book and starts reading, his voice low and smooth as he reads about wheels and buses.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

It takes me almost an hour to get the all the potatoes peeled, par boiled and roughed up in the pot. Leaving them to go completely cold, Abel's napping for the first time in his new crib, Jax and I are curled on the sofa enjoying the quite every few minutes Jax picks up the monitor to check it's working.

The fourth time he checks the switch to make sure that it's turned on in the space of less than 10 minutes I pick it up out of his hand and tuck it behind a couch cushion "Baby it's working fine. Anne told me he'll sleep till 6ish; we've got about an hour."

Jax smirks at me and wiggles his eyebrows "So we start mastering the art of the quickie now."

Cocking one eyebrow I manage to keep a straight face for a few seconds till I jump up and start undoing the buttons on the bottom of my shirt "We have about 45 minutes that hardly classes as a quickie baby."

Jax gets up and follows me down the hall, his hands catching me in the doorway "45 minutes is barely enough time to start what I want, let alone finish it."

I'm just reaching for his belt buckle when the front door opens and Donna's voice echoes into the house "I'm back and I brought food, plates and cutlery."

Laughing I drop my head onto his chest "And the cockblocking starts."

Jax rests his chin on the top of my head "New locks at the new house, gotta get locks that no one else can unlock."

I nod, lifting my hands from his belt and rebuttoning my shirt "Coming D."

Jax snorts "Or not."

Donna's leaning against the bench in the kitchen we I come back through the door a scowl on my face. Laughing she apologises "I figured it was better me showing up now then Gemma in 5 minutes with my kids interrupting something."

I nod and lean against the bench "Why's she coming back so early?"

Donna shakes her head "She's not staying, she's dropping the kids here, Neeta took the kids to the park and Gem picked them up for ice cream but they both wanted to come here to meet Abel."

I hug her tightly "Its okay Aunty D. Course they want to meet their cousin, I'm surprised they didn't demand to go to the hospital. They might be disappointed though, he's asleep."

Donna squeezes my waist "They did try and make me take them to the hospital." Letting go of me she pours coffee into a couple of cups and leaves them on the bench for Jax and I "I explained to them that he was really sick and they wouldn't be able to till he came home. Gem told them he was home when she met up with them and Neeta and that was it; they refused ice cream in favour of meeting the baby."

The sound of car doors closing outside is the briefest warning we get before the door flies open and Kenny and Ellie run into the house.

Donna holds up her hand stopping the kids in mid step "Shhh, he's in bed at the moment. If you're as quiet as mice Aunty S might take you down there to see if he's awake."

It makes me smile watching them suddenly straighten up and look up at me Ellie opens her mouth and looks at her mother quickly before whispering "Can we go see him, please. We won't make a squeak."

I nod and hold out my hands, waiting till they put their hands in mine before crouching down "I think he's still sleeping but we have to be really quiet cause he might get grumpy if he's woken up. Can you do that?"

They both nod solemnly at me and I smile and stand back up, Jax heads down the hall first, pushing the door open and stepping backwards. Ellie and Kenny wait at the door while I look through the gap. Letting go of their hands I rest mine on their little shoulders, stifling the giggle that threatens to come out as Ellie tiptoes to the side of the crib peering through the bars "He's so little." She whispers.

Kenny nods and stays standing almost a foot from the side of the crib like he's afraid. Smiling at him I pick him up while Jax comes in and picks up Ellie "Its okay Kenny, he's little but he's fine now."

Taking the pair of them back into the kitchen Donna smiles from where she's now sitting at the table "You okay babies?"

Kenny wiggles in my arms till I put him down and climbs up on his mother's knee "Mommy he's like Ellie's dolls."

Ellie's laughter makes all three of us turn to look at Jax who smiles guiltily as he catches her "She asked me to."

Donna scowls at him "Put my daughter down."

Jax pouts but puts Ellie back on her feet crouching down and holding her in place "If your mommy says there's some juice in the fridge, Aunty S might pour you a glass."

Ellie turns her huge eyes on her mother "Mommy please?"

Donna sighs and reaches behind her pulling open the fridge and passing the jug of juice over and one of the bottles of water "Half a glass diluted with water Aunty S."

Nodding I pour the kids their drinks into two plastic cups I'd kept for them "Why don't you take them outside, it's really warm out there."

As the twins disappear Donna looks around the room "How many people are coming for dinner?"

Mentally working it out I run through the list in my head "Umm, 20?"

"Where are you putting them all, you have tables for 8?"

Jax holds up his hands "Already sorted, calm down. Ope's on his way over with a couple of Ma's tables and the prospect is bringing chairs from the lot. We'll eat in the backyard. It's warm enough out. And if it's not well put a jacket on."

I smile over at him "Okay baby. Thank you, I guess I forgot how many people would be here. We better make sure the night of the party that Gem's planned we have extra chairs here."

Jax looks up frowning "I think she's planning the homecoming to be at the new place."

I shake my head furiously "No! That's not happening. Even if I have to let go of all control for both parties even more it will not be in the new house. Sunday family dinners yes, a housewarming I'll consider with myself as the person organising it all but there is no way on any planet that Abel's homecoming party will be at the new house!"

Jax's eyes widen and I realise he's looking over my shoulder "Gem's standing right behind me isn't she?"

Jax nods I swallow tightly before turning around meeting Gemma's eyes as she sets a huge salad bowl on the bench "I would have talked to you about it tonight."

Gemma surprises me by smiling and hugging me "It's okay; I'm glad that you're going to give me complete control. I'll go back and get everything I decided against ordered for the reception. The homecoming it's going to be huge anyway baby and my dear son is wrong. I knew you wouldn't want the first event at your new place to be something I was organising."

Gemma spins on her heel waving as she goes out the door "Jackson, come get the rest of the stuff from the car. I'll be back in an hour with everything else."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

By 745 the yard is full of people, the two huge tables that Miles and Kip brought over from the lot have been set up and I ended up grabbing a couple of white sheets to cover them, the plastic plates Donna went to pick up are along the table with a whole outdoor picnic feel, the red and white checked napkins and plastic utensils and glasses make me giggle whenever I look at them, the only things on the table that aren't throw away are the salt and pepper grinders Gemma brought over when she came back with all the food and the salad bowl.

Jax appears at my side in the kitchen "Babe hope that food's almost done, the guys are threatening to eat your dog."

I narrow my eyes at him "I've got to finish this gravy and get everything put onto the platters then we're done. Go get everyone fresh beers and sitting down."

Jax nods and goes back into the yard, I silently wait for a couple of seconds, handing the whisk to Donna "Stir this, I'll be back."

Going through the laundry I pause on the top step, the only threats to Doj seem to be Happy and Tig; I'm more concerned about Tig's intentions. Whistling loudly everyone looks at me but Doj immediately starts trotting to my side.

"The first person who aims a knife, fork or cock at my dog will have to answer to me, that is once he's done filling you full of teeth marks." Having aimed my glare at Tig when emphasising cock he laughs and waves his hands in the air.

"I'm starvin' over here."

Rolling my eyes I take a half step backwards "Dinner will be out in about 3 minutes Tigger and if there's a hair off his head you'll miss out."

The chorus of teasing 'oooh' and 'you got told' that get aimed at him have him laughing and saluting me with his beer bottle "Only you and Gem get away with that short stack."

Poking my tongue out at him I retreat with a laugh when he gets up. Donna's just pouring the last of the gravy into one of the two gravy boats "We're done."

In the short time I've been outside issuing my threat Donna, Cam and Al had gotten all the potatoes onto a couple of the huge platters Gemma brought over. The meat's still sitting under the tin foil but the thin slices of roast beef are ready to be taken out, cooking it the way I did was perfect, meaning that the two ends came out well done for the kids and anyone else who doesn't like their meat red. The very centre is medium verging on rare for those of us with more bloody tastes.

The four of us carry out the trays with hot food on them, the salads and huge loaves of bread already on the table. There's a collective cheer when the food appears and I slide into my seat beside Jax, Abel's pushchair beside the table with him lying in it, a rattle in one hand and a bottle tucked between his feet.

The only fuck up during dinner happens when Chibs knocks over his beer, the bottle rolling across the table. Gemma and I both laugh and look at each other down the length of the table "Thank god almost everything is disposable."

Miles picks up a new beer from the bin behind him and passes it over the table.

Once we've all finished coffee and cupcakes I excuse myself from the room taking Abel down to his room and tucking him into his cot. Returning to the living room almost 30 minutes later I'm surprised to find the living room empty and relatively clean.

Jax, Opie, Juice and Happy are all sitting around the room; Jax jerks his head towards the kitchen "They're in there doing the dishes."

Cam's at the bench with the coffee cups in front of her while Donna and Al sit at the table at the far end, one of my notebooks in front of them. "What's up chickies?"

Al looks over and shrugs "We thought we could have a look round and see what Juice and I actually want in the way of furniture. Cam's leaving her bed and dresser and dining table for me, and all the electronics that were in her apartment cause they're so much better than mine. We can get rid of them once all the moving's done."

I nod and rest my hand on the table "Well the only thing we're taking from here other than all Abel's stuff is this set." The marbled table and four black chairs already have a corner in the kitchen to go into when all the cabinetry is installed.

Al's eyes widen "So we can have everything else?"

I nod "If you want it. Fridge, oven and microwave are all brand new, I brought new lounge suites for the living room, and furniture for the games room and the living room, the only other stuff we're taking from here is the towels. The new bed is a different size then the one here. I may have done that intentionally so we have to get new linen."

Al looks around "So all we basically have to do is move in and buy a few bits?"

"Yep. But you might wanna go through the cupboards and check the dishes and cooking utensils and that sort of stuff. Something I would suggest at some point is replace the dishwasher, that ancient thing has been on its last legs since I moved in." I pause "You know I just realised something."

Donna looks over the table at me and the frown that's appeared on my face "What?"

"Jax never actually asked me to move in with him." I say quietly "Clay told me I had to come here after your house got fucked up and I just never left."

Donna laughs and gestures towards my hand "I think you might have an uphill battle if you suddenly decide to move on your own Mrs Teller."

I shake my head "Nah that's not happening. I dunno, maybe I just wanted that whole fantasy situation of the person you love asking you to live with them, planning everything and all that crap." Laughing at myself "Never mind, we're doing all that with the new house. Jax is going back to work tomorrow and I've got so much stuff to get done."

Cam and Al both look over at me with arched eyebrows "What are we, chopped liver. We'll help with anything."

"First we should go through this place and see what we need." Al says picking the notebook up.

Sticking my head into the living room I let Jax know what we're up to and he just nods, right before I leave again I leave over the back of the couch "What are we doing about phone and power at the new place?"

Jax leans back and looks up at me "Ma rang and got them sorted to run for two weeks on both places before they'll cut it off here and transfer it all over. That does mean the electricity and phone'll both be in my name."

I poke my tongue out at him "Well ring tomorrow and get my name added to them."

With a mocking salute he turns his attention back to the beer in his hand and the shit they'd been talking.

The four of us walk past the spare room which is already empty. In the master bedroom she claims the dressing table; she's already aware that nothing is staying from Abel's room and peering through the living room she laughs and says everything can stay. I can already see her completely rearranging the room.

Sitting back down at the kitchen table Al pulls my notebook over to her "So what do I actually have to buy?"

I shrug "Depends, you need to look through the cupboards here and think about what came with you from New York."

Al sighs "We have all that shit to sort too."

Refilling the coffee cups I nod "Yep. We could do that next week if you want. Your shit can come here and go into the garage; mine can go to the new house into wherever it goes and Cam's, well what's happening with the rest of your stuff chicky?"

Cam rolls her eyes "I told you. All my clothes are already gone. The furniture you guys can do what you want. I'm back at home for the time being till I work out what's happening. I was thinking about going to San Francisco but I got offered a job doing a movie in LA."

"That's great, why didn't you tell us?" Al asks, dropping the notebook on the table.

"I'm not sure if I want to do it or not, it's a 6 month contract to start with." Cam says with a sigh "I'd like to do it but it means I can't leave if I don't like LA."

Donna's the one that laughs "Well couldn't you live somewhere out of LA and drive in?"

Cam giggles "I didn't think of that."

Jumping back to my feet I head down the hall and retrieve my laptop "So let's have a look, what company is it."

Cam blushes faintly "Paramount Pictures."

I stare at her for a solid minute, my mouth opening and closing randomly "And you weren't going to tell your best friends? I sure as fuck hope you're no thinking of saying _no_."

Cam bows her head and looks down at the table "I don't know. Daddy just got married and all."

Al narrows her eyes "Camryn Jane Franklin don't you dare try and use your father as an excuse. Derek would want you to take it. He didn't have a problem with you moving to Charming, or San Francisco so why would he have issues with going to LA, especially if you end up on the outskirts."

Cam stutters a few broken words before leaning her head on her arms "Daddy told me to take it."

"So why aren't you?" Donna's the sole voice of quiet reason.

Cam sighs deeply "Daddy already gave me a list of acceptable places to live when I got the offer. He's already talked to a real estate agent about a minimum 6 month lease."

Donna nods and Cam speaks quietly "I guess I'm resisting it cause it seems like he's trying to control it. I understand him telling me where he wants me to live cause he would have researched to find a safe suburb but already talking to an agent there seems like he's pushing a bit hard."

Donna reaches over and pats her hand "Tell him then. From what I saw if he knew how much this was bothering you he'd pull back."

Cam sighs again, her shoulders heaving before she looks up "I will." Pulling out her phone she opens her emails "Let's look at these suburbs he gave me."

We work through the list of over a dozen suburbs that Derek had deemed 'safe' for his little girl to live in. Cam ends up narrowing it down to several on the outskirts before she asks me to pull up the real estate website.

Donna looks surprised at the speed that things are moving and says so. Cam clears her throat uncomfortably "I have to give the studio an answer by Thursday. The movie starts shooting in 4 months and if I take it I have to relocate and hire a whole bunch of other people, they put me in charge of all hair and makeup."

Al squeaks lightly "This is huge! Cam you're nuts for even having to think about it."

Donna nods and I pull up a couple of real estate websites punching in all the information I know about Cam and what sort of place she'd like to live in. Running the search I look over at her with a slight frown "I only found a few places that are really small that are in the areas that Derek listed."

Cam leans over my shoulder "I'll make a list of the ones I want to see and go down to see them sometime this week I guess."

Al bounces in her chair "Road trip."

I grimace and shake my head "I can't leave Abel this soon after coming home. It's going to be hard enough going for the trial and Sturgis, and to pick up the car."

Cam shrugs "So bring him. D, you should bring Ellie and Kenny too. The four of us with the kids, I'm sure we'll manage."

Shaking my head again "I can't Cammy. I've got too much to do around here with the move, and getting D's house sorted, and furnished, getting Al and Juice moved in here and sorting out the businesses."

Cam nods "Okay, so Ali and I will make a trip sometime around going to Bakersfield on Wednesday. You'll come won't you Ali-bean?"

Al nods her head "Hell yeah I'll come. I think S should to, but she's right, there's shitloads of stuff to do around here."

"Sarah should do what?" Jax leans around the corner "The guys are ready to go babe."

Cam laughs "I'll come over tomorrow morning and we'll look at those houses so I can make a shortlist." Turning to Jax "What I said S should do is come with me to LA when I look at houses. She refused on the grounds that she's got too much shit to round here."

Jax looks over at me "You can go if you want."

Getting to my feet I shake my head "Like I said, I'm not going with so much to do round here, and I'd miss you regardless of how long I was away for. And you can't take any more time off at the moment."

Walking the six of them out the door I lean against Jax's side as everyone leaves, the three bikes all heading in the same direction down the street, Kenny and Ellie having gone home earlier with Gemma and Clay.

Jax wraps his arms around me shoulders when I push the door closed "You can go with them if you want babe."

I shake my head again, turning in his arms I lean up and kiss him lightly "I don't want to. I love my girls, I really do, but I've just spent a few days with them and now I want to be with you and Abel."

Jax grins down at me "I know just how you feel Darlin', I have to go back to work tomorrow and I'm lookin' forward to coming home every night to my wife and son."

I laugh "And a home cooked meal."

Jax nods, scooping me up and throwing me over his shoulder "That too babe, now it's almost 11 and I have to be at work at 8."


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. So I decided to stop editing my chapters for FFN. If the story gets pulled from there due to content it's on TWCS, but it is set at a M rating n FFN for a reason.

There's something in his voice that I can read as hesitance and when he sets me down on my feet in our room, when he leans forwards to kiss me I hold up my hand "What's up?"

Jax sighs and sits down on the edge of the bed "You still see shit too well. Clay talked to me tonight, I've gotta go out of town tomorrow for at least one night. Juice can't go on this run."

"Why?"

"Cause it's to see Uncle Jury."

"Oh for fuck sake Jax, Abel only came home today."

Jax sighs and runs his hands through his hair "Babe I know. I asked Clay if we could push it back till next week when he's settled but he can't. The Mayans are pushing hard on the Tribe to pay a vig and with them being affiliated with the Sons it looks bad for us if they do."

I roll my eyes "I know you wouldn't be going unless you had to, granted it could have come at a better time but you have to go."

Turning around I pull his saddlebags from the wardrobe where I'd left them, tossing them onto the bed I sigh and pull a pair of his clean jeans, wife beater, t-shirt, underwear and socks. Packing the clothes into one side I leave the other side empty for anything he needs to take with him.

Jax stands up and crosses the room, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head on my shoulder "I really am sorry Darlin'. Anything else and I woulda pulled the deal with Juice and made him go but I can't."

I shake my head, leaning back into his arms "I know Jax. I guess I'm just frustrated, Abel's only just came home today and now you're going away."

"It's only for a night, two at the most babe."

I sigh and nod "You said that." Something in Jax's voice makes me stop and think, suddenly remembering what Happy had told me were Jury's main sources of income make me narrow my eyes. Pulling out of his arms I turn around at look at him "Who's going with you?"

"At this stage, Bobby, Tig and Ope, the guys will be on standby if we need them."

A noise in Abel's room echoing through the baby monitor makes me turn my head. Leaning up and kissing him lightly I head towards the door "I'm gonna go check on him. You go to bed, you've gotta be up early."

Jax nods and watches as I leave the room, his eyes cloudy with something I can't read. Picking Abel up out of his crib I change his diaper before taking him through to the kitchen and warming up a bottle in the microwave. Taking it and him back down to his room I sit in the rocking chair and put the teat in his mouth "You should be sleeping Abely baby, why are you awake?"

Abel's huge eyes focus on me in the dim light of the room as he sucks on the bottle. Giggling at myself I shake my head "I guess you were hungry huh."

Half way through his bottle he loses concentration; his eyes start to drift around the room. Pulling the rubber teat from his mouth I lift him over my shoulder and rub his back slowly till he burps just by my ear. Shaking my head I reposition him and give him the bottle back, watching as he finishes it, drifting to sleep with almost an inch left in the bottom of the bottle. Rubbing his back slowly he burps in his sleep which makes me laugh. Lifting him and putting him back in his crib I sit back down in the rocking chair and watch him sleep my brain turning over the fact that Jax is going to see Jury, the gambling that's a portion of the brother club's income isn't an issue, I'm more concerned with the fact that a majority of their income comes from hookers.

Sitting there for a while watching Abel sleep it's at least 20 minutes later when I get to my feet and lean over his crib kissing him on the forehead lightly "Sleep well baby boy. Cross fingers Daddy doesn't tap some 2-bit whore while he's away from us."

I decide to have a shower before going to bed, hoping that the hot water will wash away the stress I suddenly feel about Jax going on a run without me. Mid-way through the shower I'm rinsing the conditioner from my hair when I realise something and laugh at my own absurdity. Hurrying through washing and shaving all the parts that require attention I go back into the bedroom with nothing but a pair of towels around my body.

Jax is asleep curled on his side, the lamp on my side of the bed the only light in the room. Drying off I slide into bed behind him and look at the back of head for a few seconds, still smiling.

He rolls over and opens his eyes "I can feel your eyes on me."

I lift my head, propping myself up on my elbow "Sorry baby, I like looking at you, is there a crime in a wife enjoying the way her husband looks?"

Jax laughs "You can watch me whenever you like babe, as long as you know I'll do the same." I smile at him and nod but his next words surprise me so much that I almost fall face first onto the bed "And as for 2-bit whores, I've got you here why the fuck would I want any second rate pussy. Like I said, road pussy is history Sarah."

I shake my head "You don't have to say that. Honestly baby it means a lot that you said it but I don't want that hanging over your head, what happens if you get drunk and slip?"

Jax laughs "What slip and fall dick first into some sweetbutt somewhere? Ain't gonna happen Darlin' all I have to do is look down and I'm reminded of you and what I have to come home to, besides its only two nights."

I giggle at the thought of him falling dick first into a sweetbutt but open my mouth to say something, Jax shakes his head and lifts his hand, pressing a finger to my lips "Babe, shut up and show me what I'm going to be missing."

Leaning down I kiss him slowly, my tongue pressing into his non-resistant mouth and rubbing over his in long languid strokes. There's an almost serene feeling surrounding us, Jax lifts his hands and runs them down my shoulders and upper arms, repeating the strokes while my hands slide over his skin. Reaching his waist I pull back far enough to look at him "Were you hoping for something Mr Teller?"

Jax grins and rolls us over so I'm pressed to the mattress "Babe I'm always hoping for something, I'm thinking that the rumours about pussy drying up when you put a ring on the finger are all lies."

Rolling my eyes at him "The day that happens is the day that I know you'll be hitting road pussy."

Jax shakes his head and leans down so his lips are brushing mine "It ain't happenin' babe."

Moving my legs sideways Jax settles between them, his chest pressing against mine when he leans down, pinning my hands to the mattress above my head he brushes his mouth against mine, his hands sliding over my arms, down my sides and up the inside of my thighs. The grin that spreads across his face twitching his goatee against my cheeks. Pulling back again so his mouth is barely on mine "Seems like I'm not the only one hoping something would happen."

Poking my tongue out barely it brushes his lips before he's sealed his mouth to mine, his hands coming away from my thighs. Pressing forwards with his hips his cock fills me, both of us sighing in satisfaction.

Jax keeps his movements slow and precise, his thrusts barely parting his body from mine before we're connected completely again. Clenching my muscles around him he groans tearing his lips off mine "You don't play fair."

I giggle which makes him groan again "Never said I would." Moving my mouth to his neck I lick his Adam's apple, the muscles in his back clench under my hands.

Jax presses his pelvis to mine and rotates his hips making me moan against his skin, the feel of his chest moving when he chuckles. Sealing his lips back to mine he continues to rotate his hips over mine, my fingers digging into his shoulders when he moves further down the bed, moving up deeper into my body. The pressure of his pelvis against mine sends a fissure of pleasure through my bloodstream, my fingers lifting off his skin so I don't dig my nails into his shoulders.

Tightening my muscles around him again he groans and thrusts his tongue into my mouth harder, the continued pressure against the points in my body make it feel like my body is about to fall apart, the only thing holding it together is Jax's hands beside my head, his legs against mine and his lips on mine.

Jax lifts a hand, holding my head in place while he continues to slide his tongue in my mouth, his hips rotating in the same motions, the tightening of his fingers on my head the minutes fraction of warning before his hips move harder against mine, the increased pressure all the friction my body needs to completely shatter.

Tearing my mouth away from his I groan his name, only the flash of Abel sleeping down the hall enough to make my voice not loud enough to echo through the house. "Holy fuck Jax."

Jax moves again, his own breath coming in hot puffs against my neck, my muscles spasming around his length, his teeth brush against my throat as his entire body stiffens in my arms as he cums.

Holding himself up and lifting his mouth off mine he looks down "That might be enough to last a day. I'm away two babe."

Pushing his shoulders he rolls off me onto his side of the bed, pulling me to his side with a chuckle "In the morning then, cause you're gonna need to remind me before I go."

Slapping his chest lightly I lift my head and crane my neck so I can press another kiss to his lips "I'll remind you in the morning, and before you leave if you really need me to."

Jax grins "That sounds like a great plan babe, now go to sleep."


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Sorry, this is fairly short.

Abel's still asleep when Jax's alarm goes off just after 6. I slide out of bed and go to check on him as Jax blinks up at me. "Where do you think you're goin'? You owe me something."

Laughing I hold up a hand "You gotta hold on a sec, I'm going to go check on our baby first, you're going to go get in the shower and wait for me."

Peeking my head into Abel's room I smile slightly at him still exactly where I put him down after his 11pm feeding, quietly stepping over to the cot I lean over it and double check his chest is still moving. Relaxing when I see the rise and fall of his tiny chest I back up and pull the door closed behind me.

Finding the bathroom door open I step through it, Jax already in the shower, the air foggy. Opening the door behind him I slide my arms around his waist and lower my hands straight to his crotch. Letting my fingers drift over his skin I'm surprised at how quickly his flesh twitches and hardens under the gentle pressure. Waiting till he turns around I look up at him and grin "Now, about what I owe you."

Jax smirks, running and hand over his head, pushing all his hair away from his face "I was kiddin' babe. You don't owe me shit."

I laugh and tighten my fingers slightly "But I'm going to give you something to remember, something to keep you warm the nights you're not here keeping me warm."

Jax's eyes widen when I lower myself to my knees "Babe that is not what I was meaning."

I stick my tongue out and run my tongue over the pulsing vein in the bottom of his shaft "Are you sure baby?"

Jax groans, his hand coming up to rest against the wall "Oh by all means, continue."

Wrapping my lips around his skin I slide down until my nose brushes the curly hair and swallow. Jax groans above me, his other hand coming down to rest on my shoulder, looking up at him through my eyelashes my eyes lock on his and he bites his bottom lip. His eyes widening as water runs over his head. Lifting both my hands off my knees I wrap one around the bottom of his length, my other one comes to rest on his thigh, the tips of my fingers tightening slightly.

Keeping my eyes on his I move slowly with his breaths, in and I move forwards out and I move backwards, my movements speeding up with his breaths till he's almost panting and I give up trying to keep up with him, moving as far down as I can I swallow again, the muscles in my throat tightening against his length and my tongue pressing tightly to the bottom, his breath comes out in another low groan and his fingers tighten on my shoulder "Babe I'm gonna cum if you do that again."

I blink slowly up at him again and do exactly the same thing again; his hand lifts off my shoulder and pulls all my hair away from my neck, curling it around his hand it tugs a little when I move my head down again and he goes to release it all, shaking my head I swallow around his length again and the thought leaves his head with another groan, my name whispered at the end of it.

Smiling slightly I pull all the way off the end of his cock, licking the vein on the bottom again and repeating the swallowing motion, curling my tongue around him and pulling it back slowly he shakes his head, my eyes still on his face, biting down on his lower lip his fingers tighten in my hair again and his whole body shudders a microsecond before my tongue is bathed in warm slightly salty cum.

Swallowing as quickly as I can I lick my way backwards and get back to my feet, turning my head under the showerhead I let some water pour into my mouth before swirling it around and spitting it out. Jax grimaces "That was elegant."

Raising an eyebrow at him I run my fingertip over his softening cock, his whole body twitching away from the contact of his supersensitive skin "Bite me."

Jax shakes his head, turning around and finishing washing his body, looking over at me when he's done "I'd like to but Abel's awake."

Sure enough now that I'm listening I can hear the soft just woken up grizzles coming from his room. Pushing Jax out of the shower I grin "You'll have to get him, I haven't showered yet."

Jax blinks "But I don't know what to do with him."

Laughing I pick up my body wash again "Change his diaper and get him a bottle, there's one on the bench that should be the right temperature now. Make sure you test it first. I showed you how yesterday. You'll be fine daddy, if not I'll be out in about 5 minutes."

When I come out of the bedroom 10 minutes later Jax laughs at me "Did you send all your clothes over to the new house?"

Shaking my head at him I look down, his dark blue SAMCRO shirt and the grey shorts I'm wearing definitely not something to leave the house in "No, but I'm going to be moving stuff today so why do I need to be dressed up?"

Jax shrugs "Okay babe, can you check this bottle. I'm not sure if it's right or not."

Rolling my eyes I shake the bottle and hold my hand out, Jax sets his hand in mine and I tip a little milk onto the inside of his wrist "Can you feel that?" At his shake of his head I smile "Then it's perfect."

Leaving Jax to feed Abel I start making breakfast, staying simple with scrambled eggs on toast. Jax glances towards the kitchen as I set his plate in front of him "You know I'm fine with cereal for breakfast aye babe?"

I nod, bringing my own plate and two coffee cups with me when I come back "I know, one day when I'm lazy I'll give you cereal, but it's not happening today."

Jax picks up his fork and shrugs "Okay then."

Watching Jax with Abel in his arm eating his breakfast makes me smile, he looks over at me and cocks his head "What?"

"You. If someone had told you a year ago that this was in your future what would you have thought?"

Jax laughs and picks up his coffee cup "Honestly, I would have thought that whoever it was needed to be committed." Taking a sip of his coffee and setting the cup back down "Now, I don't want to think of my life any other way. Wife, son, house almost ready to move into. TM is doing good and the club is expanding income sources life couldn't get much better."


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. I have written the requested Cam/Happy/Happy's mom discussion, however it won't be posted till after chapter 23 as there are some bits that correspond.

Jax stops just inside the door before leaving, his helmet in one hand and his saddle bag in the other "I'm still sorry I have to leave so soon after the boy came home."

I shrug "It's fine Jax, but the sooner you leave the sooner you'll come back to me. Ride safe."

Jax drops his bags on the ground and lifts his hand to my neck, pulling me forwards "I always do babe."

Stretching up I kiss him on the lips slowly, his breath tasting like coffee and toothpaste. Leaning his forehead against mine the tip of his tongue appears and brushes lightly over his lips "Be careful, if you need anything ring Clay or Hap."

I sigh "I will baby. Maybe I'll get D to bring the kids and stay tonight with me so I'm not alone and lonely. And besides, Hap's going to Bakersfield on Wednesday."

Jax nods "I forgot. Ring Clay then. Having D stay would be a good plan babe, that way Ope won't worry about her killing Ma without him there as buffer."

"Is it that bad?"

Jax shakes his head laughing and lets go of my neck backing up and stepping down to the ground "Nah I think Don's just goin a little stir-crazy not being able to be Mommy without Grandma right there."

"Well, she's only got a week left and she'll be here. Speaking of that, we're going to San Francisco at some stage to pick out furniture for them. Maybe we'll do it tomorrow before you guys come back."

Jax shrugs and backs towards his bike "Whatever you want Darlin'. Love you; I'll ring when we get there so you don't panic."

I nod and blow him a kiss, hearing the rumble of bikes coming down the road "Seems like your companions couldn't wait."

Jax laughs as Bobby and Ope's bikes roll to a stop at the end of the drive, Donna's car behind them turning up the drive and taking the space the Nitro is still missing from. Bouncing out of the car she waves at me "Grandma took the kids away again, I thought you and I could do some more moving and making sure you've got everything for the new place. If not, we can go spend some money."

I smirk at her "Funnily enough I was just saying to Jax that you and I are gonna go shopping for your furniture tomorrow, but I can't spend any money I haven't got any cards."

Donna grins and nods, crossing to Opie's bike and giving him a kiss, whispering a few words before the three bikes leave the drive, she's pulled to a stop by Jax as she steps past his bike, he hands her one of my bank cards and says something low enough that I can't hear. Sighing as Donna climbs the stairs she wraps her arms around me and hugs me tightly "Its okay S."

I squeeze her side "I know. We should make a whole day of it tomorrow, just you and me."

Donna nods and pulls me towards the door "Come on, let's go get coffee and wait for Al and Cam, I know they're on their way, Ope had to stop at TM on the way and they were just finishing coffees. Gem's taking the twins to playgroup this morning, something about you needing moral support the first time your Old Man left on a run without you."

I sit down on the chair in the kitchen "Does it get easier?"

Donna shakes her head "Not really. You learn to deal with it, you accept that they're going to be away for a couple of nights and you pray they don't touch any random pussy while they're away, but if they do you get over it."

I widen my eyes "Fuck D, you really did relax a whole lot while I was gone didn't you?"

Donna laughs and shoves my shoulder "Shut up, you're the one that told me that shit S!"

"Yeah but I wasn't an Old Lady when I told you that." I drop my head down to my arms which are folded on the table "I can't imagine this ever getting better. I mean, we've barely been married for a heartbeat. Abel's been home less than 24 hours and Jax is gone already. I really hope this isn't going to become the norm for us ya know."

Donna nods and sits beside me, setting a coffee cup in front of me "It won't be. You know how often they go away these days, very rarely. Besides, we've got Sturgis coming up next month."

"What's a Sturgis, isn't that a type of fish?" Cam asks from the doorway making me turn and laugh.

"That's Sturgeon; Sturgis is a bike rally in South Dakota next month." I say giggling "Ali-bean do you and Juice think you'll come?"

Al shakes her head "I can't, Juice told me about it but I've been talking to Terry and he's coming down for me to finish his back, which normally wouldn't bother me I'd come after I was done, but he's bringing his brothers and apparently they all want the same back so that's four brothers I've gotta do the entire thing on and one I've still got a 3rd of it to do. They're going to keep me busy for weeks."

"Hope you're charging them, and made Terry aware you're now officially off the market. Juice won't handle it if he gets overly close." I point out as her and Cam drop into seats across from me and Donna.

Al grimaces a little "Yeah I told him. Don't think it'll mean shit to him. I told Juice about it and he said he'll find out if I can hijack Hap's room to do the work so he's on hand if things go over boundaries. I would almost bet the leather and bikes will make him stop though."

Cam snorts "Dream on. It'll take a bullet to the brain for that man to stop chasing you like a dog chases a cat."

I poke my tongue out at her "Doj doesn't chase cats."

Cam and Al both laugh at me "That's cause he's too fucken big to catch up with them." Donna says making me turn my head to her and poke my tongue out again.

"Cammy, did you want to look at these houses?" I ask pulling my laptop towards me.

She nods and waits while I open the computer, the tabs I'd pulled up for the real estate company Derek contacted "Yeah, but I thought I might look for a bigger place then I need that way you guys can come visit me, and I can get roommates."

Al chuckles "So you're gonna want at least a couple, one to do the cooking, one to do the cleaning and one to do the garden?"

Cam slaps Al's arm lightly "Smart ass. I'll make sure a gardener is included in the lease, but I will hire a cleaner, I need at least one housemate who can cook." Cam looks at Al and cocks her head "You said Terry's brothers are coming?"

Al nods and narrows her eyes "Yeah I did."

"What about their sister?"

Al shrugs "I don't know, Maddie might come with them but I can't imagine doing a cross country trip with 5 brothers would be the highlight of her year if she did."

Cam glances over at me "Hold that thought."

Donna looks completely lost when Cam picks up her phone and dials a number, launching into a conversation in French that leaves the rest of us looking blankly at her.

Hanging her phone up she claps excitedly "First member of the team sorted."

"Who's Maddie and you accepted the contract?" Donna beats me to asking and Cam nods once at her.

"I rang them when I got to the clubhouse last night with Happy. They're Fedexing the contracts to me today to sign. I have to build a team of four make-up artists and 5 hairstylists in the next 4 months. And answer to the second part Maddie is Maddison, she's…" Cam's voice fades off and she looks helplessly at Al and I for a second. "…how the fuck do you describe her?" She eventually says with a laugh.

Al shrugs "Maddison is the only girl in a family of 6 children; she's also the youngest, if you imagine what Ellie will be like when she gets older. Maddie is a very girlie girl, being surrounded by testosterone and males she's very used to batting her eyelashes and getting her own way. She's also someone who was at school with Cam. She's a hairdresser though."

I laugh "Hair _stylist _remember Ali and god help you if you get in her way." Looking at Donna I see a slight sadness in her eyes at the lack of knowledge she has "You do know a bit about her, she and I didn't get on the greatest to start with."

Cam laughs "Stop pussyfooting around it. I was sure that first night you were going to end up needing to be bailed out, both of you. You and her hated each other, you only barely tolerate her cause of me, but don't worry I have no plans on bringing her here." Clearing her throat she looks towards the laptop "Okay, so let's look at these houses."

I push my laptop towards Cam and go back to the kitchen, putting the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and cleaning the kitchen Cam makes a few noises of delight and a couple of disgust, including one comment about floral curtains and pastel carpet.

Donna gives up watching after a while and follows me through to the master bedroom where I've disappeared to with a couple of boxes "What do you need help with S?"

Pointing towards the very top of the wardrobe "I didn't touch that shit cause I wasn't sure what it was, Jax said its Wendy's stuff though. I'm kinda scared to go near it."

Frowning up at the top two shelves of the wardrobe she looks at the 8 or so boxes "Well let's just get it all down and sort through it."

Cam calls our names from the dining room and I frown, hurrying down the hall wondering if in the five minutes I've been gone they've managed to blow up my laptop or set fire to the kitchen, it wouldn't be the first time.

"I found it. The house I want to live in that is."

I lift my eyebrow "You know that you're not leasing it till you've seen it in person and till Derek's done all the checks on the street, the house and all that. Did you find a 2nd, 3rd and 4th choice?"

She nods "Yeah, and I emailed the links to Daddy. But what I wanted you for is that." She points at my laptop where she'd opened my email to send the links to Derek, the pile of unread emails is almost into triple digits and I sigh.

"Any one of them in particular?"

She clicks on the one from Charlotte "This one."

Leaning over her shoulder to read the words on the screen it takes me several readings to understand the words on the page.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Plugging my own story here: Anyone who hasn't already read it I re-wrote Laying Pipe and I'd appreciate all the feedback I can get. It's nothing like this, only 2 chapters and less than 5 thousand words.

Donna looks at my white face and pulls my arm till I sit down at the chair she's shoved behind me "What?"

I look towards the screen "They've moved the trial date up by almost a week."

Donna frowns "Isn't that a good thing?"

Shaking my head furiously my mouth is about 10 miles in front of my racing brain "No! Charlotte, the prosecuting DA was meant to come down here for a few days before hand to go through everything with you guys but now she's not going to have time."

Donna squeezes my hand "Why is that a problem?"

"Cause it was going to be the test if I could say with a straight face that I haven't seen Craig since I left New York."

Cam turns to me and narrows her eyes shocking me back into the present "Oh fuck." I whisper quietly looking towards Al and Donna hoping they'll be able to help me but their heads shaking make me realise the hole I just dug.

Cam taps her fingernails on the table "What the fuck did that mean?"

Swallowing tightly I get up and wave towards the living room "I'd rather be comfortable if I'm about to be executed." Curling into the armchair in the corner I wait till she's sitting across from me at the end of the couch "Craig showed up here about a week after I got back."

"Is that why there was always a patch with us at the hotel, and every time we left the place?" I nod "And when it suddenly stopped?"

I pick nervously at the clip on the back of the baby monitor that I'd carried through with me "I can't tell you Cam. Uncle Clay would kill me."

"You mean like he killed Craig?" Cam says it in such a matter of fact way that it's not just my head that shoots in her direction, the stunned look visible on my face. "Well that confirms it." She says in a 'no duh' sort of voice.

I shake my head "My Uncle Clay did not kill Craig." I state plainly, my eyes locked on hers.

She cocks one eyebrow "But he ordered it." She leans into the back of the couch and sighs "S, I'm not stupid, don't start treating me like I am. I know you almost as well as Donna and Al know you, you and I lived together for four years remember." I nod and she tugs her hair lightly "You always told me that you learnt the most about life from observing when you were younger, coming here to meet your family I took a leaf from your book and I'll tell you what I _noticed_ and what I _know_."

I nod and Al sinks onto the couch beside Cam while Donna sits down beside me on the chair, our legs tangled together.

"Firstly I know that the Sons are more than a motorcycle club. I don't know of a single club where every member is armed with at least two weapons at all times. I know every single guy at least carries one gun, by now don't you think I know the bulge of a holster. Beside that fact why would a group of 'Harley enthusiasts' need a Sergeant at Arms?"

I bite my lower lip and stay silent while she taps her fingers on her knee "Add that to the fact that I know what burnt gunpowder smells like it kinda started making sense to me even before Happy and I hooked up the first time."

I lift my head, my eyebrows creasing "What does Hap have to do with any of this?"

Cam shrugs "Everything. His body is what put the parts together for me."

"Huh?" I'm truly confused and she giggles.

"Let me explain and it'll make sense I promise." I nod and she picks at a loose thread on the bottom of her shirt "First thing was the shedding of his holster, and the fact his gun was put within arm's reach of his bed, safety off. Also he has these amazing tattoos, shit half of them look like they're about to jump off his skin but there's a few that stood out to me. He has 'I live, I die, I kill for my family' around his neck. I know the only family he has is his Mom and his Aunt that both live in Bakersfield so I asked about it and he told me that the Sons are his family. That coupled with the fact that everyone calls him killer put everything into place. What nailed and cemented it was in New York, Opie's reaction to those photos and Jax's lack of overemotional reaction clicked the last pieces together."

Donna holds up her hand "Hang on a sec, S and I took ages to calm those boys down at your house, how does that make anything make sense?"

Cam smiles at us both "Simple, Jax beat the shit out of someone for simply comparing S to his ex-wife, there was no way he would have been calmed by just words after seeing that, and the articles, he barely got annoyed at them. Yes he swore a few times and there were a few articles that didn't survive him reading them but he was way too calm." Cam let's go of the bottom of her shirt "I don't want any details, plausible deniability and all that but I will say this, and I'm only gonna say it once, if that bastard suffered anywhere near as much pain as I think he did before his heart stopped it's only a fraction of what he deserved. Now as far as I know he's still alive and on the run somewhere."

Cam smiles hugely "I'd better ring Daddy and let him know the trial's been moved so we'll need the plane earlier." Jumping to her feet she goes back into the kitchen.

The three of us look at each other in silence for a few seconds before I laugh "I am not going to be the one to tell Clay she knows."

Al and Donna both shake their heads "Ditto there!" Donna says with a shudder "If she worked that out though just from what we've been like do you think anyone else would have?"

Al shakes her head "Nah, no way. Cammy's a bit like S, she's always observing and always listening. She puts together stuff in her head like a puzzle. Besides that, who else is ever going to get close enough to Hap to ask him questions like that?"

I clear my throat and Al looks over at me and laughs "Yeah but Hap loves you, you're his little sister and he'd give you the moon if he could."

I shake my head, only stopping when Donna pokes me in the side "Do you remember that weekend when we were 16 and you wanted to go to some light show? Who was it that not only convinced Gemma to lie to your uncle about where you were but also took you there?"

I laugh remembering the night Donna's talking about "Yeah I remember that. Hap had to promise Gemma he wouldn't leave me side all night before she'd agree to let me go with him, she was sure he'd dump me there and take off. Strangely no one came near me all night." I squeeze Donna's hand lightly "That probably had something to do with the hugely tattooed man who was glaring at everyone though."

Donna laughs "Yeah that'd do it. Hap still scares me sometimes."

Al nods enthusiastically "Juice said that Hap would help me move my tattoo gear if I needed it but he's just so intimidating."

I snort at them being scared of him but looking over at Al I get what she means, her insulted look at my snort has me opening my mouth before I can think "Ali-bean I know what you mean, I do. Hap is very scary looking, he's frightening and if I didn't know him as well as I do I'd never ask him anything and probably run away from him but he really would do anything you need him to. You're his brothers Old Lady that makes you family."

Cam dances back into the room and drops back onto the couch "Plane sorted, house viewings sorted, Ali-cat you're coming aren't you?" Al nods and Cam grins "Sweet, we can use your car cause I have no wheels on this coast. Ahh fuck, that means I've got another cross country drive to do!"

I sit up straight "So wait till the beginning of September to bring your car over and we'll come with you."

"What?" Cam looks almost as confused as I felt before.

"Well, the Viper will be ready sometime in the first week of September and Jax and I are going to fly to Detroit to pick it up, why don't you drive to Detroit and meet us, that way we can go together. In fact with the trial moved we may as well just stay in New York till the fucken car is finished. Abel can come with us I'm sure, course that means he'll have to travel in your Escalade."

Cam frowns "I don't know S, taking a baby across the country in a plane then driving back isn't that gonna be a bit hard on him?"

I shake my head "No it's perfect actually. I know Jax he'll want to be back as quickly as he can which would mean 10-14 hour driving days but with Abel we won't be able to drive more than about 6 hours a day."

"Okay, other problem then. Including Abel there's going to be 8 of us and what, 7 seats?" Cam says with a raised eyebrow.

I shrug "Yeah that's a point."

Donna twists her head to look at me and then at Cam and Al "I could have a solution." She says quietly waiting till we're all looking at her "Well Ope's been bugging me to get a new car, what's wrong with buying one from New York or Detroit and driving it back as well?"

I smile and hug her tightly bouncing in my seat "It's completely perfect that way you can buy brand new and this way Kenny and Ellie can come too!"

Donna shakes her head "Uhh no, budget won't stretch that far S but it would be nice to take the kids away before they start school."

I roll my eyes "You think your budget won't stretch but as long as you buy a Dodge or a Jeep I can get you a discounted rate from Dodge. Those guys love me."

Al snorts and nods "They see dollar signs every time you walk through the door into the dealership S. That's why they love you."

I poke my tongue out and look at Donna "I'll send them an e-mail later and find out what they have and what prices they are okay?"

Donna sighs and nods silently.

Al leans over and pats her knee "Don't worry D. When she picked up her Challenger from the plant in Detroit it was meant to be a 9 hour drive back to New York. It took her 2 days."

I laugh and lean back into the seat "Yeah cause I kept stopping to take photos of it."

Donna shakes her head and laughs "Okay okay, I get it I'm being railroaded into this. You give me the costs and I'll talk to Ope, we have a very strict budget for this S, so no giving me half amounts and paying the rest behind my back. Okay?"

I nod and rest my head on her shoulder "I wouldn't do that Donna, I really wouldn't." The use of her full name has her squeezing my hand and whispering that she knows.

Cam looks over "So we're sorted then. Go over for the trial, pick up Sarah's new car the first week of September and whatever Donna buys then drive all the way back across the country?"

I nod and grin "Yep and you can pay for accommodation this time. I'll cover food."

Cam smirks "I think I'll get the cheaper end of that."

"Probably. Now, I've got a bed covered in boxes of a junkies shit and a storage unit full of stuff to sort out, who's helping?"


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Al, Cam and Donna help me sort through the boxes of Wendy's stuff that had been jammed in the top of the wardrobe, at one point Donna grunts in disgust and shove a wooden box the side of a shoebox to one side with a violent motion.

"What?" Cam says from the other side of the bed where she'd been giving Abel a bottle and watching Al work through a box full of cosmetics, most of it being thrown straight into the bin I'd gone back and retrieved.

"That is her drug box!" Donna spits out making me look closer, the dark wooden box looks eerily familiar and when I lift the lid I don't see anything in it till Donna reaches past me and smacks on the front of the box, the whole bottom hinges and the false floor lifts up.

"I remember this box." I say softly, Donna looking over at me. "Wasn't it JT's?"

Donna nods "Yeah, he kept his medals in the bottom and a whole bunch of random paper on the top. The medals are all at the cabin now. I'm surprised Jax gave it to her."

I shake my head "I don't think he would have D. Do you remember the weekend we took the medals up there, JT's, Clay's, Piney's and Tig's?" Donna nods but Cam and Al both look at me curiously "It was kinda strange really. Jax had JT's medals, I had Clay's, Ope had Piney's and Donna ended up with Tig's somehow. I think he kinda took a fatherly role with the whole nearly deafening him thing." Donna shudders but lifts her hand in a casual wave "The four of us took the medals up to the cabin in this box and spent like hours polishing them and making sure they looked perfect before we put them in this display cabinet inside the door of the cabin. You'll both see it one day I'm sure. But Jax vanished after we were done, I guess it was hard on him, he was gone for almost four hours."

Donna leans her head against my shoulder while I carefully pick everything out of the box and drop it in the 'incinerate' pile. "He was pretty low that weekend. It was also the last weekend the four of us were up there together." She says in a quiet voice when I close the box and brush the top of it off again, the anarchy symbol engraved in the wood dirty and caked in dust.

I nod and set the box to the side "That was the beginning of the end really. He was low for the weekend and when he wasn't being a mopey depressed idiot he was bitching and sniping at me, the next week he bedded Tara and I became a reflection in the rear view."

"Baby you were never a reflection; you were the poltergeist that haunted his every move." Gemma's voice behind me would have startled me had I not seen her reflection in the bedroom window. "Now what's all this shit?"

Al looks over the mattress "It's all the junkie whore's stuff. I have to say she did have a few good things though. Like, how the fuck did she end up with a fringed Gucci bag?"

Gemma looks over, her eyes narrowing "I have no idea. But if it gets re-homed I'd check it for hidden pockets and drug stashes."

I growl low in my throat "Oh no Gem, we already found the stash in JT's box."

"What?" Gemma sounds just as fucked off as Donna did "How did she get that? Jax used to keep his dad's wedding ring, medals and all that shit in it."

Picking it up I pass it to her, her face twisting when she sees the scratched condition it's in "The medals are at the cabin, we were just talking about that actually. But I'm going to clean it and re polish it for him Gem, don't worry. As for the rest of what was in it, I don't know. Hopefully it's somewhere amongst this stuff."

Gemma sighs and leans against the door frame "Okay, now the reason I came over, which you could have saved me a trip if you picked up your phone, what sort of flowers do you want for your reception?" As she finishes speaking she drops the box onto the bed and walks around the end of it, scooping Abel out of Cam's arms and nuzzling her nose into his neck "Oh, I guess coming here does have some advantages."

Smirking at her inhaling the baby powder scent from Abel's skin I shrug "First choices would be roses, orchids and tulips. If I have to pick second choices..."

Gemma holds up her hand "Nope, no second choices, you want roses, orchids and tulips that's what you'll have. Any particular colours?"

"Purple." Al, Cam and Donna all say at the same time making me shrug and laugh.

"Yeah, they've got it. Absolutely no pink though, anywhere."

Gemma laughs "Okay, find your phone and keep it on you so I don't have to haul my ass over here again."

I get up and follow her towards the door, grabbing hold of her arm just after she leans over and sets Abel in his bouncer she turns around and lifts an eyebrow "You okay baby?"

Nodding I hug her tightly "Yeah, they've moved the trial up a week."

"Oh shit, how does that work?" Gemma asks squeezing my shoulder.

"It's starting on the 24th so we'll have to go over the 23rd. Jax already talked to Clay about it but I feel really guilty taking him away again."

Gemma shrugs walks back towards the front door. Lifting the sides of the bouncer, baby and all I follow her, "It's okay, he hasn't taken any time off in a very long time, it won't kill him to have a few weeks off here and there now. How long are you going to be gone for?"

"There's Sturgis next month, we're away from the 1st till the 13th then the trial in August from the 23rd till whenever it finishes, we're going to stay in New York till my car's done cause it's being picked up from Detroit, it's due to be ready on the 7th of September, but I think the trial will be at least a week, so probably 24th till the 30th. We're going to take all three human kids with us though so you'll just have Doj to look after. We probably won't be back for at least 9 days so mid-September just in time to help organise the Taste of Charming with you. Then as far as I know that's it. I'm going to put a veto on leaving California for at least 6 months after that. I've already done enough travelling this year to last me 10."

"That would probably be a good idea baby. Remind everyone again that you're not going to always be taking off somewhere. Even if most of it is not exactly stuff you can get out of. And did you tell everyone how much they owe you for this Sturgis trip that Clay told me you've paid for?"

I shake my head "Not yet." Gemma narrows her eyes and I hold up my hand "I only haven't cause I'm waiting to make sure no one adds themselves at the last moment, cause if anyone else decides to come I have to add extra rooms and that'll change the amounts."

Gemma chuckles and shakes her head at me "Just tell Clay what the total amount was and how many Sons are involved, he'll work out how much everyone has to give you and don't give anyone anything till you get their money off them."

"Yes Aunt Gemma." I say with a sigh stepping back from the now open front door "I'll go find my phone now so you don't have to come over again, but maybe you should remember we do have a phone in the house too."

Leaning down Gemma kisses Abel on the forehead and then me on the cheek "I know, but I have to go get lunch while I'm out. And I got to see 2 of my favourite Tellers."

Laughing I wave over my shoulder as she pulls back out onto the road muttering to myself "There's only 3 Tellers in total."

The rest of Wendy's stuff doesn't unearth anything interesting, the pile that ends up being set aside to be disposed of makes me laugh, everything she bar the Gucci bag that Al claimed when she saw it and a pair of Prada sunglasses that Donna found still in their box at the back of the wardrobe is piled into a huge mess on the floor.

Cocking my head to the side I look at it all "You know instead of burning it like I'd like to maybe we should donate it."

Donna nods and gets up slowly, stretching backwards "That's actually a pretty good idea, when Ope and I move in here and sort through everything it might be an idea for a clean out. Someone keeps buying me clothes."

Al hops to her feet nodding "Yeah S, you and I should do that too when we unpack."

Poking my tongue out at her I start folding the clothes and stacking them back in the boxes, rechecking pockets as I go.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

I'm just tucking the last of Wendy's clothes into a box when my phone chirps from my pocket. Pulling it out I smile brightly, flicking it open "Hey baby."

"We've just got to Indian Hills. You a'ight?" Jax's voice is a little crackly through the phone and I wander into the living room, the sound clearing.

"Yeah I'm fine. We've been sorting the junkie's stuff. I'm gonna take it all and donate it to some charity. Tomorrow D and I are going to start shopping for their furniture, we're going back to that warehouse were we got ours."

"Who's going with you two?" I can almost hear the frown on Jax's face when he asks.

"No one. Cam and Al are going down to LA to look at these houses Cam liked so D and I are having a day together."

"Not what I meant babe, which Son is going with you?"

Sitting down on the arm of the chair I sigh "No one."

"Not fucken happening in a million years. You leave Charming you have a patch on you." I can hear someone in the background saying "hear hear" to his statement and I sigh.

"Fine, who would you suggest. Juice'll probably be going with Al, he won't let her go to LA alone I'm sure."

"Take Hap."

I snort with laughter "I won't tell him you suggested that, he's going to see his mom on Wednesday, he won't leave till all his Bluebird and TM obligations are done. What about if we went with Kip?"

"Sack? Really, you'd put up with him? Why?"

I giggle a little "Cause he won't follow me around like a puppy."

Jax sighs "Fine. Sack and the prospect."

Tapping my fingers on my leg for a second I think "Okay baby. You ring and let them know that the pair of them are stuck with a couple of Old Ladies going shopping for furniture."

Jax chuckles and agrees quietly "I will, but I gotta go babe, Jury's about to sit down. Be safe."

"Love you Jax."

"You too."

Between the four of us we load the boxes into the back of Jax's truck Donna agreeing with me that we'll take it shopping.

I'm in the middle of shoving a box into the backseat when my phone rings again "Can someone grab that please?" I ask from where I'm juggling a box that's already on the seat and the one I'm trying to fit in beside it. A hand slides into my pocket and retrieves my phone.

"Yellow?" I shake my head at Cam's usual greeting. "Hang on Patrick; she's in the back of the car. Give her a sec."

Rearranging the boxes so neither of them is going to fall forwards or sideways onto the base of Abel's car seat I back slowly out of the car and accept the phone with a smile "Hey, what's up?"

"Your bank balance if I can get an okay in the next 45 seconds." Patrick says with a barely contained glee in his voice.

"Huh?"

"Those shares of that shoe company I brought at your request at the beginning of last year have just sky-rocketed. If you sell now you'll easily quadruple the money you put in." The tapping sound I can faintly hear is either him tapping his pen on the desk or his finger on the enter key, all the information already entered. Having sat behind him once while he was waiting for something I know exactly what he'll be doing.

"Sure. As long as it's not going to cause trouble for the company."

The solid sounding tap confirms that he was tapping his enter key and he chuckles "Honey you have nothing to worry about."

"Okay. Did you get an email from Charlotte, the trials been moved up to the 24th."

"Yeah I did, I'll make sure to clear my calendar, oh and congratulations. Are you still sure you don't want a pre-nup?" 

"I'm hanging up now and I'm going to pretend you didn't ask that." I pull the phone away from my ear and start closing it.

"Wait." I lift the phone back to my head at his shouted word "Don't you even want to know what this sale made you?"

"Don't care, reinvest it all."

"But it's..."

"Don't care, reinvest it all." I say again with a grin.

"Okay. See you next month."

"Yup. Bye." Hanging up the phone again I shove it back in my pocket turning to my friends "So who's hungry?"

All three of them nod and I laugh "Well why don't we go drop this lot, go to Lumpy's for lunch then go to the storage unit and make a start on that?"

The enthusiastic nods of the three of them make me laugh "Please, you all know where the fridge is, if you were hungry you have hands to get something!"

Snapping Abel's car seat into the base in the back Al and Cam head to Al's new car and I take a second to look at it, it's in remarkably good condition for being over 5 years old and the smile that crosses her face when she unlocks it lets me know all I need to, that she loves the car, but then looking at the perpetual smile that seems to have been on her face I consider it's probably more that she loves Juice and his thoughtfulness of buying her a car then the car itself.

We stop by one of the two charity stores in town, unloading the 6 boxes of clothes and shoes and the one box of costume jewellery doesn't take us long, the thanks that are still being called when we leave have me laughing all the way back to the car.

Sliding into a booth at Lumpy's a few minutes later I snicker again "I had a realisation while we were dropping that stuff off. The people that shop there will have no idea they're wearing the clothes of a SAMCRO members dead junkie wife."

Donna pokes my side "That's just evil, I love it."

Setting Abel down in his capsule down beside me on the seat I chuckle and nod.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

It takes almost all my willpower not to walk away when I open the door to the storage unit "How did the three of us get so much stuff?" I moan, leaning against the door frame.

Cam shakes her head "Uh, not us. Most of this is yours. The rest of Al's and my stuff is still in storage in New York and none of my clothes are in there anymore. Oh, that reminds me I better get it shipped over. LA or here Ali?"

Al looks over "Here, duh. That way you _have_ to come to get it."

Cam laughs and pushes me towards the boxes "How bout we start with the boxes of your clothes."

The four of us position ourselves between the storage unit and the back of the Ram. We almost manage to get all the boxes of my shoes into the back of the truck, the start of the boxes of clothes going into the back seat. Stacking the rest of the boxes of my clothes to one side I sigh again "Okay I really do have too many clothes."

Donna laughs "There is no such thing as too many clothes."

Cam nods enthusiastically "Exactly!"

Al opens the back of her car "We'll probably get the rest of your clothes in here; we can come back for the rest of your stuff S."

The other 5 boxes of clothes are put in the back of Al's car and after locking the doors again we get back in the cars, we're just pulling out of the drive when Donna turns to me and lifts an eyebrow.

"What?"

"That's all your clothes and shoes? That's like 16 boxes, and most of them were shoes."

I shrug "I don't know D. Al and Cam packed everything for me apart from those bags I had when I got here."

The next few hours are spent with us moving boxes into the huge wardrobe and unpacking them all, when we're finished the 'hers' side of the wardrobe is ¾ full and Donna is sitting on the floor looking at the racks of shoes with a stunned look "How, why?"

Laughing I pull her to her feet "How, cause I keep buying them. Why, because I see these shoes that I love and I end up buying them."

Donna shakes her head "Well I have something to say on that." Sliding her arm around my neck she laughs "You might find me stealing some of them."

I snort "It's fine if you want to borrow my shoes."

Donna claps her hands "I know S, now I've gotta get my car and go get the kids. Take me back to Jax's?"

Dumping all the empty boxes in the back of the truck and restrapping Abel's seat in the back Al and Cam head in one direction in her car while Donna and I go back towards the old house "How bout you bring the kids back and stay with me tonight?"

Donna sighs "I'd love to, but Mary's coming down to see to see the kids."

Reaching over I pat her hand "It's okay I guess I'll just get the rest of the packing done once Abel's down for the night."

Donna pokes me with the tip of her finger "Make me feel guilty why don't you."

Shaking my head I glance over at her "Sorry D, I didn't mean to."

Donna laughs "I know I was just winding you up. Mary is coming down though, Gemma refused to cook dinner so I have to."

Looking over at her again I lift my eyebrow "Do you need some help?"

Donna shakes her head "Nope, I took a leaf from your book and put together a casserole last night, as long as it's in the oven in the next 45 minutes it'll be done for dinner at 6."

Pulling the truck into the driveway Donna doesn't come inside, instead heading straight for her car and leaving with a wave.

Taking Abel inside the first thing I do pour a glass of wine and open the pantry "Well Abel looks like its soup and toast for 1 for dinner."

Abel coos at something which makes me laugh. Leaving him in his capsule I dart back outside and carry in the boxes, dropping them on the table in the kitchen "Guess I can do some more packing like I said. Not that there's much left to do."

Abel looks blankly at me and I roll my eyes at myself "First thing though S, stop talking to someone who's unable to speak and expecting an answer."

A few hours later Abel's fed and bathed and in bed for the night, all the food in the cupboards that we're not going to need over the next five days is packed away in boxes and I've cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom again. Sitting down at the table I pull my laptop over and start working through the e-mails there, starting by deleting the 35% of them that are spam. Reading through each email from Graham makes me realise apart from one email and seeing him while we were in New York I haven't spoken to him since I left.

It takes me almost 30 minutes to read through all of his mails and compose one back, the reply ending up so huge that could easily fill three or four pages. Filing the emails from him I delete every one that starts with a request for investing or donations leaving less than 2 dozen to work through slowly.

Taking the laptop through to the couch I curl up into the chair, keeping my promise to Jax to not spend any more money I delete the 9 emails from various websites that I have regularly brought things. The 2 statements from Patrick I file without looking at it, replying to Charlotte that I've gotten the confirmation of change of dates and will be arriving the day before the trial takes me all of a fraction of time. The four newspaper requests for interviews I forward to Patrick asking him to send them the same stock letter as last time before filing them in the 'shit I don't want to deal with' folder. Along with the forwards I send him a request to get make, model, year and prices of any cars currently on the lists at the factory where I'll be collecting the Viper from.

The last two emails I look at are from Derek, one a letter that was sent out to everyone who attended his wedding saying thank you with a picture attached of the first kiss of the married couple, the other email is more personalised, there's a couple of photos of the 7 of us attached, his closing thanks for me fixing the fuck up in the wedding cake topper makes me laugh as I type a couple of lines of reply.

Sending that off I close my laptop and get up, walking through the house I plug the laptop in in the kitchen to charge and lock all the doors and check the windows, my phone rings in my hand as I open the bedroom door and glancing down at it in shock I roll my eyes then answer it.

"Hey, how's it going?"

Jax sounds either tired or a couple of drinks past sober when he chuckles "It's okay, I miss you."

Laughing at the pout in his voice I sit on the edge of the bed "Course you do. I miss you too. Abel was good though, and I got all my clothes unpacked and put away at the new house." Jax laughs and I faintly hear the sound of music and engines in the background "Where are you?"

"Outside, Ope's talking to D and Bobby's already been introduced to the entertainment. Jury set him up with one of their stable."

I clench my hand, my fingernails digging lightly into my palm while wondering which of the revolving door of women is going to end up in bed with Jax. "I bet he was over the moon. I was about to get in the shower."

"Oh, okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow and let you know if we'll be here another night." He can't hide the disappointment in his voice but he brightens a little at the end of the sentence. The sound of a bottle opening fairly loud through the phone.

"Okay baby. I love you." I bite my lip lightly so I don't tell him how much I miss him and want him back and that if he asked I'd get in the car and drive there even if it's the middle of the night.

"Love you too babe." Jax disconnects the phone call, closing my phone I drop it on the bed, my brain refusing to accept the feminine giggle I'd heard the second before the call ended had anything to do with Jax.

Getting back to my feet I go into the bathroom and take a very long hot shower, trying to wash the images of Jax with any number of Jury's women from my brain.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Abel's cries wake me up a little after 3am, feeding and changing him in the virtual darkness of his room I'm only barely half awake when I stumble back into the bedroom, falling face first onto the bed the smell of Jax invades my nose with the air that expels from his pillow. Sighing I roll over and onto my own pillow, closing my eyes and willing sleep to return.

Waking up almost 4 hours later I'm curled around Jax's pillow, my nose burrowed into the middle of it where the spicy smell of him seems the strongest. Abel's squeaking noises from the baby monitor make me wonder what's going on but the smell of coffee that drifts through the door answers whatever I was going to ask myself when Gemma's voice floats through the door "Shall we go see if Mommy's awake?"

Sitting up and pulling the blankets to my chest I smile at Gem when she pushes the door open with her foot, carrying Abel towards the bed, bottle already in his mouth "Good morning baby."

"Morning Grandma. Not that I don't love the smell that's coming in here, but why are you here so early?" Gemma looks over my shoulder out the window and takes a couple of deep breaths "Fuck, I'm not going to be impressed am I?"

Gemma shakes her head, the anger on her face now readable that I'm looking for more emotion "No you're not. Clay's riding out to Indian Hills with the rest of the charter this afternoon."

"Why?"

Gemma passes Abel to me and sits down beside my legs "Mayan trouble. Clay wants to put it to them to be patched over."

"What?"

Gemma shrugs "I don't know baby, Juice is going to LA with Al and Cam today, Hap, Kip and the prospect are staying here but everyone else is leaving after lunch."

Sighing deeply I shrug "Oh well, guess D and I will put our shopping trip off for a week."

Gemma shakes her head "No, she talked about us with it last night; Kip's going to go with you two."

I nod silently, my brain suddenly remembering the female giggle when Jax hung up his phone, from what I remember hearing Patch Over parties are the pinnacle of all parties for the Sons.

Gemma reaches over and pats my knee "The upside is they'll be back tomorrow night if the vote goes like Clay thinks it will. Coffee and a muffin are on the bench in the kitchen for you, Abel's already changed and dressed, bring him to TM before you go shopping, I'll look after him today for you."

I nod, continuing to hold Abel's bottle for him "Okay. D and I were going to make a day of it in San Francisco, drive over, do her furniture shopping, have lunch, manicures, pedicures, facials. I thought about catching a movie while we're there and then dinner and back home. Will you be okay with Abel till late?"

Gemma grins at me and reaches over, rubbing her fingers over Abel's foot "We'll be just fine, make sure you bring lots of formula and diapers."

I laugh "Sure thing Grandma."

Gemma rolls her eyes at me and walks towards the door waving over her shoulder as she leaves.

Waiting till Abel's finished his bottle I burp him, grimacing when he spills a little onto my shoulder "Just as well my hair was tied up aye baby?" Tucking him into a surround of pillows on the bed I pull one of the few outfits I left at the house off the hanger in the wardrobe. Abel's sucking his fingers when I finish getting dressed, his eyes following my movements around the room.

Donna knocks on the front door as I'm finishing the muffin and coffee Gemma brought as she walks into the living room "How far away are you from being ready? Hi Abel." She aims her question at me then turns her attention to Abel, picking him up off the blanket I'd put him on on the floor.

"About 15 minutes. Teeth, face, shoes handbag and diaper bag and I'm good to go."

"Okay, I'm gonna use your laptop for a second k? Gem told me about this place that you can customise towels and I want to get a couple for Ope and I for at the Clubhouse. I'm sick of people taking my towels when I leave them there."

I laugh at her angry expression "It's on the table in the kitchen."

She waves me towards the bathroom "Go finish getting ready then, shopping hours are wasting."

Rolling my eyes I go down to the bathroom, brushing my hair, and teeth and washing my face then coming back via the bedroom where I collect both packed bags which were on the end of the bed and my shoes. Returning to the kitchen I drop the bags beside Donna on the table where she's flicking through a webpage. Glancing up at me she gestures to the bottom of the screen "Some weird thing keeps flashing down there."

Peering over her shoulder I nod "It's email, I'll check when you're done, probably just Graham replying to my very overdue update."

Donna takes another few minutes to order the four customised towels with their names embossed across them then gets to her feet "You check that, I'll put the bottles in the bag."

"Thanks D." Sitting down in front of the laptop I double click on my mail icon and wait while it loads, the four new e-mails popping in within a couple of seconds. Flicking through Graham's mail I reply with a quick one of my own telling him that trying to add a chilli chocolate mousse to the menu would be a bad idea, unless they put 'limited' beside it then it'll sell for sure.

Charlotte's sent me an updated list of everything that's been listed as evidence and I file it away, the only new things that have been added were highlighted by her and they're both things I suggested submitting, the phone records of the number of times he used to call me and the dismissal letter he got from his job which listed the reasons being due to his uncooperativeness and reliability issues.

Deleting the third one, a market research quiz that I have no intentions of doing I open the fourth one when I see the address as being from a yahoo address with DTIndianHills in the title makes me think it's from the Devils Tribe, even being unsure what it was they would be emailing me at 3 in the morning I double click the paperclip. The attachment takes a second to open but when it does I almost swallow my tongue, the photo that comes up clearly shows Jax and some woman I've never seen before, the scrawled writing above it tells me it was taken at 2:23am that morning. Donna leans over my shoulder and stifles a gasp sitting down beside me heavily.

"What the fuck?"

I shake my head; my eyes glued to the screen "I don't know D. I really don't, right now I don't want to think about it though. Let's go do some shopping. You've got my card aye?"

Donna nods and pulls it out of her pocket, handing it to me.

Slamming the lid of my laptop closed I twist in my seat to shove my feet into my shoes "Right then, TM to drop of Abel and then...hang on a second."

Turning back to the laptop I lift the lid again, waiting for the few seconds it takes for it to reopen, the picture pops straight back up having been open when I closed the lid. It takes me a split-second of looking at it before I lean back in my seat and start laughing, Donna's eyebrows hitting her forehead in confusion.

AN: Opinions: why on earth is she laughing?


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. (I included the photo that was referenced in the last chapter, it's the same one that Tara was sent. I already know where that is going but it's a wee way away yet).

Donna lifts her eyebrow "What are you laughing at?"

"Answer me two questions D." Donna nods "What am I looking at?"

"You're looking at a photo of Jax fucking some random blonde, apparently taken at 230 this morning."

I grimace slightly but nod "Okay, now what am I not seeing?"

Donna takes another look at the photo, spending a few long minutes examining the photo before she shakes her head "I don't know. There's nothing identifiable anywhere in the photo. What am I missing?"

I grin at her "That's exactly it."

"What? Stop speaking in riddles; tell me why you're not furiously stalking around planning ways to skin him alive."

Tapping the photo on my screen I grin at her "This was taken at least a couple of months ago, before he and I ever got together."

Donna lifts her eyebrow again "How do you know that."

"Simple." I smile at her, closing the photo and forwarding the whole email to Patrick asking him to investigate the originating email address. Closing my laptop and getting up I pull her to her feet 'There's no tattoo on his chest."

Donna glances at the computer, her forehead creasing as she thinks about it before she shakes her head laughing "Okay, so I wouldn't have noticed that at all, even if I had him standing in front of me and the photo to one side."

Settling Abel into the capsule I pick him up and wave towards the bags "Can you get them for me please?"

Donna lifts the bags off the table and follows me out the door, snatching the keys from my finger and locking the door behind me then dancing past to unlock the truck, opening the back passenger's door she holds it open while I set Abel's seat into the base making sure the all the locking points click into place. Jiggling the seat Donna laughs at me when I step back and close the door.

Dropping Abel off at the lot I'm surprised how hard it is to leave him behind. Getting back into the driver's seat I sit for a second and look at Donna "How am I going to leave him for 2 weeks when that felt like torture?"

Donna chuckles and turns the radio down a little "The trip away isn't for another few weeks, by then you'll be over sleepless nights and ready for a break."

Waiting till Kip's on his bike behind us I restart the car and pull out of the lot, once we're on the road and I know she won't completely beat me up before speaking "D, he already sleeps through the night, well almost."

Donna glares at me through narrowed eyes "That's just not fair."

Tossing her claimed sunglasses at her I shrug "Guess the sleepless nights will have to wait for the next one."

Donna wiggles her eyebrows "Really, am I hearing the pitter patter of little feet already?"

Shaking my head again I laugh "Not yet. Let me have a few years first."

Donna leans back against the headrest "You might get a year out of Gem before she starts bugging you no end for more, I only got three years cause I gave her two at the same time, she's been on at me for almost as long as Ope about having more."

Parking the car almost 90 minutes later into one of the parks out the front of the furniture warehouse we both jump down, locking the car behind us I wrap my arm around Donna's neck "So, anything in particular you're looking for in styles?"

Donna shrugs "Don't need to get a bed; you already did that for me. I need to get everything new for the rest of the house, other than the kid's room."

I let her pull me around the store and midway through picking a dining suite to go into the dining room and bar stools for the breakfast bar in Piney's house and a shorter version to go with the table in the kitchen she looks over at the kids section and wanders off. Grabbing her hand before she can get to far away I wave my hand in front of her face "D, we'll go there in a second. You've got to pick between these two stools. Do you want the dark wood with black leather for Piney or the light wood with red?"

Donna glances over "Black, he'd hate the red."

"Okay. Dining table, which one?" The two tables she'd been umming and ahhing over for almost 5 minutes are almost identical, the only difference is the square bottoms on the legs on one and the rounded ones on the other. It's been almost easy to ignore Kip who hasn't been more than 4 steps behind us the whole time, it's been interesting watching him though, I've already managed to work out his preferred style of furniture by the things he stops by, almost all of it is wood so dark it's almost black and stainless steel.

"Umm, the one with the same legs as the chairs." The square one I roll my eyes, rewriting down the code I'd already crossed out when Donna changed her mind before seeing the chairs she wanted.

"Okay, kid's stuff seeing I've lost your attention here."

Donna looks over "Sorry S." Walking over to the area of the warehouse filled with various themed bedroom furniture. "I was thinking it might be time to move them into their own rooms, I know I should have a while ago but they're starting school next year too and their personalities seem to be so different now."

I shrug, leaning against a dressing table "It's up to you D; it's not a bad idea to move them into their own rooms when the new house is built, that way change all happens at once. Are you sure you don't want to bring them so they can pick their own beds though?"

Donna shakes her head "No, I already know which ones they'd pick." She picks 7 piece sets for both of them. Ellie's in white wood the dressing table, bedside table, desk, chair, and hideaway bed all decorated with the same bows that are on the end of the bed. By complete contrast the set she picks for Kenny is a natural pine colour, the bunk beds being made up of offset pieces where the bottom one sticks out from the middle of the top, the structure holding the top one in the air is a set of draws and there's an additional dresser that comes with the set and the nightstand tucked in beside the lower bed. The desk and chair are the same almost sharp edged wood.

She grins over at me "That way I can donate the beds they've been using. Maybe we should call past that charity shop on the way back into town and see if they want them?"

I shake my head "D, they'll be closed before we get back to town. And you still have one more thing to pick."

"What?" She looks confused, looking over my shoulder at the list of furniture before she chuckles "Oh right." Heading towards the lounge suites she ends up picking the same L shaped set I did but in a rich brown cloth. While she's looking she also gestures at a weird looking couch which is actually two armchairs joined in the middle by a table. "That would be perfect for Piney." 

Jotting it on the bottom of the page "Are you getting anything else for him while you're here?"

She shakes her head "No, he can sort the rest himself. All he has to do is get a bed and a dresser."

Donna's bill ends only being a fraction of mine was the advantage of only buying a few bits for each room. Giving Jax's house as the delivery address we're told it won't be till the following week that everything is brought down on the scheduled out of town run.

Leaving the warehouse the next stop we make is for food, filling ourselves with greasy burgers and fries having to insist to Kip that he needed to eat and didn't have to sit on the other side of the room. Forgoing the manicures and pedicures that would be pure torture for the poor newest Patch for the afternoon showing of a movie labelled as being 'a comedy about two brothers, a girl with a broken heart, a sex tape, and angel and a pig'.

2 hours later we're both laughing our heads off leaving the movie theatre, Kip a step behind us shaking his head in disbelief "I'm telling you D, that 'guy' looked like Clay in a dress!"

Donna nods her chuckles making her shoulders shake "And I bet if you shaved Jax's goatee off he'd look like the other guy."

I shudder "No way in hell are we trying that. But I do have to say this; Jax never has to scream at himself to get hard!"

Donna grimaces at me "Too much info S. Really, way too much info. Where to now?" Kip's nod at it being too much info makes me laugh again and apologise to them both through giggles.

I shrug as we walk back towards the car "Umm, we could go make a start on the rest of the stuff we're both going to need in the houses."

"What stuff?"

"Linen, dinner sets, serving dishes, utensils, glasses, mugs."

"Ugh, I suppose so." Donna doesn't sound enthusiastic about it but pulling into one of the many coffee shops first she brightens when I put a double shot vanilla latte in her hand.

"So where do you want to go?"

Donna shrugs "I don't know. I guess we can go to JC Penny, they'll have everything we need."

I look over at her "Where are they?"

Donna lifts her hand "In Webstertown."

Laughing at her I back out of the car park, 45 minutes later I'm pulling into the closest car park I can get to the entrance we want.

The next two hours are hilariously fun, with both of us needing to completely restock our kitchens, Donna due to vandalism and me due to never having brought dinner sets or anything like that we end up having to take a couple of trips through the checkouts, the first one after finding all the kitchen and dining things, everything from teaspoons to serving platters gets done on the first trip, the second one trip around is spent picking out bedding, towels, facecloths, napkins, tablecloths and placemats for the table.

Loading all the neatly folded tableware into the back of the truck I try and decide what was funnier, the look on the cashiers face when I put up the four square dinner sets in black or when I put up the four of the same ones in white. Donna had even looked at me strangely when I'd put enough place settings in each colour for 32 seats but my shrugging reply of it giving me spares had made her add another one of the pale green set she'd found.

Closing the door again I lock the car and look over at Donna "So we've done kitchen, bathroom, dining room. Is there anything else we need to do?"

Donna shrugs "I have no idea S. Why don't we just go have a wander around and see if there's anything else that jumps out. Ope told me he'll come when we pick out the TV and all that sort of stuff."

I look over at her and blink widely at her for several long seconds till she looks at me and lifts an eyebrow. I stop and lean against the wall "I hadn't even thought about that. We've got Jax's TV which he was going to put into his room but we haven't brought anything like that for the living room."

Donna chuckles "Guess you better tell Jax he can go with Ope and pick them. That gets me out of having to listen to him debate over TV's for hours."

I nod and push off the wall "That sounds like a really good idea."

Our last trip before heading back to Charming we end up in the mall first, stopping for more coffee and cake Donna and I quietly sit at one of the cafe's talking for 20 minutes, I deliberately ignore the phone calls Kip's making to Jax and Opie to let them know what we've been up to, lifting my eyebrows at Donna and shaking my head.

She shrugs "You knew they both would have asked for updates though. And this way they're given the heads up about having to shop for electronics."

Finishing my coffee I stand up and hold out my hand for Donna, she laughs as she jumps to her feet, Kip hurrying after us, slapping his phone closed and putting it into his pocket. The last trip through JC Penney's Donna holds my arm so I don't vanish into the shoes, shaking my head I remind her that I don't have enough space for any more at the moment.

The only things that either of us pick in our last walk through are a few bits of wall decoration, Donna buys 3 big black photo frame collages and a huge mirror that she says she can already see hanging right inside the front door. I end up only picking up a couple of huge tree shaped wall decorations, each of them holding 10 glass cups for candles. Donna makes me put back the photo frames I was looking at.

It's not till after we've paid for the last few things and have put the back in the car that she explains "You're moving house soon, Abel's home coming party is not long after that and your reception, don't be surprised if Gem tries to put a house warming party in there as well in the next couple of months, photo frames, vases, candles all that sort of stuff you'll get as gifts and not to mention you'll probably have some huge wads of cash thrown at you."

I sigh getting back in the truck and starting the engine "True. I wonder if it would be rude of me to do a 'what I want' list."

Donna laughs "Nah, that way at least you'll get what you want. Talk to Gem about it and see what she says though."


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Donna and I unload all my purchases into the foyer downstairs then hers into the garage at Jax's, Donna gets in her car and follows me to TM, finding all three kids in the play area, Kenny and Ellie running between the swings and the slides and Abel in Happy's arms. Laughing at the relief on his face when the two cars pull in he sits waiting till we get to his side before handing the baby to me.

Curling my arms around him I lift my eyebrow "Where's Gem?"

"In the office, Abel wouldn't stop crying before and she was trying to do the parts order so I took him outta there before she went nuts."

Leaning down I kiss his forehead lightly "Thanks Hap. Let her know I've taken him home? And good luck with your Mom."

Happy nods and turns his attention back to the other two kids. Strapping Abel back into his car seat I wave at Donna and pull back out of the lot going straight back to the new house, sorting through the boxes of everything I put everything material that needs washing into the laundry space in one corner of the kitchen where the gaps are plainly obvious for the washing machine and dryer which have to be moved from Jax's. Making a mental note to let Al know that's two things she'll have to buy I purposely leave all the dinner sets and kitchen related things stacked in the same place, the kitchen's not finished yet and it all needs washing before I can put it away.

Even doing that I'm back home just after 6, opening the fridge and then the cupboard I frown at the contents "I don't want soup again." Snorting at myself for once again talking to someone who can't reply I take him through to his room where we spend the next 45 minutes reading even though I know he doesn't understand any of the words, giving him a bath and a bottle he's fast asleep tucked in bed at 730.

About 845 my cell starts ringing but it stops before I can answer it, seeing an unfamiliar number in the display I toss it back on the table beside my laptop. Re-reading the email from Patrick I'm not surprised he hasn't had any luck on the email address, but his comment that he's passed it on to two very close friends, one in a governmental office and one a hacker lightens the stress a little.

There's another statement from him in the email and I realise if he's sent me 3 in 2 days there's obviously something I need to look at. Opening the latest one the only changes I can see is that he's doubled the stock I had in a winery in the Napa Valley and there's been more put through to the short term investment fund, that's the one that makes me the most in interest with the higher risk factors.

At 930 I finally give up and get to my feet, turning off all the lights and double checking the door is locked I shower spending a long time washing and conditioning my hair. Drying off and pulling on one of Jax's shirts, the smell of him clinging to the material I climb into bed realising that it's a week since we got married and I'm at home in our bed alone, for the second night in a row. Flicking my thumbnail over the rings on my finger I roll onto my back and look up at the ceiling wondering what exactly Jax is doing right that second and who the fuck it was that sent me an old photo of him banging some blonde.

Its pitch black when I wake up, sitting up in bed the whole house is dark and I silently swear at the fact that hall light bulb must have failed during the night. A shuffling noise in the hallway makes my heart rate increase and a spike of fear runs through my brain at the fact I'm sitting alone in bed in the house owned by a member of SAMCRO, his son in the room next to me and I'm completely unarmed against whoever it is that's working their way slowly down the hall towards the bedrooms. Sliding over the bed inch my inch I wonder how easy it would be to get out the door and into Abel's room in the darkness, my feet are barely on the floor when the door swings open and a muffled grunt reaches my ears. The sound of a hand slapping on the wall has my brain working a mile a minute trying to work out if there is anything in the room that I can defend myself and Abel with, coming up completely blank my eyes slam shut when the switch on the wall is flicked and light floods the room.

Blinking my eyes open slowly it takes a second for the person in the door to come into focus but when they do I sit down on the edge of the bed "What are you doing here?"

"Umm, I live here." Jax looks confused as he shrugs off his kutte, kicking his shoes across the floor.

I shake my head "That's not what I meant. Gem said you were voting on patching over the Devil's Tribe."

Jax nods "Yeah she's right." 

"But you're here." I say my brain fuzzy with sleep.

Jax laughs and comes to sit beside me, pulling me to his side he runs his hand over my head "I am here. The vote was at 8, I stayed for a couple of beers after it was made official then I left after an hour or so."

Looking over his shoulder I remember pulling the plug on the alarm clock and tossing it into a box earlier "What's the time?"

"A little after midnight." Jax gets back up "I'm going to go have a shower, I'll fix that light in the morning."

I nod and follow him into the hallway, turning into Abel's room "Can you leave the door open so I don't have to turn the light on in Abel's room?"

Jax leaves the door open, shedding his clothes just inside the door to the bathroom. The sound of water running hits my ears as I lean over the crib; Abel's sleeping soundly, his little hands beside his head in tiny fists.

Stepping into the bathroom I pull the door mostly closed and pull my hair over my shoulder, plaiting it and looping it onto the top of my head "I got sent an interesting e-mail this morning."

Jax turns around, pushing his hair out of his face "Yeah?"

I nod, pulling his shirt over my head and stepping into the shower with him, my arms sliding around his waist as he pulls me close "Yeah. It was you, and some blonde, apparently taken this morning, well yesterday morning actually."

Jax's eyes cloud over and he looks down at me with a frown "It wasn't me."

I laugh, shaking my head "Baby it was you in that photo. I would recognise you anywhere regardless of the shit quality of the photo. However it wasn't this morning, in fact it wasn't any time in the last 2 months."

Jax lifts his eyebrow "How do you know that?"

I stretch up and kiss his neck softly, my tongue catching a drop of water "Cause I do. You told me you would give up road pussy and I believe you. I'll show you the photo later if you want. Patrick's already investigating where the fuck it came from. But you might be able to tell me."

Jax shakes his head "Babe I hate to say it cause it sounds bad but I doubt I'm going to remember some random chick I fucked."

I shrug "Well you might. Now, do I get a hello kiss or shall I leave you to your shower."

Jax chuckles and pulls me closer to his chest, leaning down "The hello kiss is the reason I came home. I missed you Sarah, more than I expected." His lips press to mine and the pain that I'd been feeling since he left disappears, the knowledge that it was the longing to have him near makes my heart stutter.

Jax takes his time kissing me, he seems completely in control, the slow movements of his mouth completely contrasting to my thudding pulse, fighting the need to bury my hands in his hair and pull on it till his composure breaks I rest one of my hands on his chest, right over Abel's name, curling the other over his shoulder I tighten my grip on him when his tongue brushes over mine slowly before withdrawing.

Jax leans his forehead against mine and smiles slowly "If that was my welcome home I should leave more often."

I shake my head furiously "No!" spilling from my lips before I even have a chance to read the teasing in his eyes.

Jax presses a soft kiss to my lips, then my cheeks and forehead "Did you miss me? I was starting to wonder."

Moving my hand around his neck I stretch up and kiss his throat again "Of course I missed you baby. I missed you from the second you walked out the door."

Jax frowns, picking up my body wash and pouring a blob into his hand, motioning me to turn around he starts running his hand over my back "I was wondering cause I didn't hear from you at all today."

The hurt in his voice is discernable and I look over my shoulder at him blinking slowly. Waiting till he's covered my back with bubbles and rinsed them off I turn around "I didn't ring you cause I thought you'd be busy with club stuff all day, I figured you'd ring when you were free."

Jax chuckles, understanding dawning in his eyes "Maybe _if_ I do go away again we should clarify that before I go. I didn't ring you cause I knew you were going shopping and didn't want to interrupt your girls day. Sack did ring me though when you were having coffee. Why did you buy 8 dinner sets?"

I laugh and lean closer to him, my chest pressing against his "Cause I wanted to. I'm going to go get dried and dressed. I actually had a shower a couple of hours ago." Wrapping one of the towels around my body I open the door and step through it "I'll be waiting for you."

It's almost funny how quickly Jax finishes in the shower, I'm just drying my legs when he steps through the door, his towel in his hand instead of around his waist and a smirk on his face.

He crosses the room to me in a few short steps, pushing me backwards onto the bed and following, his breath brushing over my neck when he lands beside me. Pressing me to the bed with his mouth he kisses me breathless, his lips and tongue stealing my thoughts straight from my brain.

Reaching up he cups his hand around my face looking into my eyes he smiles "I really did miss you. I never would have thought it possible."

"Why didn't you think you'd miss me?" I poke my tongue out at him pushing against his chest.

Jax pushes my tongue into my mouth with his finger holding my lips closed "I didn't think I'd miss you because I knew you'd be here when I got home. I knew that you weren't going anywhere but I still missed you being with me, I missed you being less than 10 minutes away from me at any time. I missed knowing that I could ring and you'd come."

I laugh stretching up and kissing his neck "I would have come to Indian Hills if you'd asked me."

Jax smirks "I know Darlin', but why would I take you there where I have to share you when I can have you here all to myself."

Jax rests his hand on my shoulder holding me to the bed his lips brushing mine with light kisses that barely touch my lips pulling back further so he can look down at me. He doesn't say anything just looks down at me, a faint smile twitching around the corners of his mouth. Lifting my eyebrow at him he shakes his head and leans down again, sliding his arms under my back and holding me tight against his body. Running his hands down my sides he walks his way back up my skin, his fingers barely brushing up again, curling his fingers around my chin he holds my face in place when he leans down and fuses his lips to mine again.

Tickling light touches of his fingers across my skin bring goose bumps up everywhere he touches his arms are still slightly damp when I slide my hands over his shoulders, pushing him so he's on his back his lips part from mine and he blinks up at me, his lips part and his tongue slides out and wets his bottom lip, before he can say anything I lean down and seal my mouth to his, pressing my tongue into his mouth I drag my fingers down his chest, my fingers settling into the grooves of his abs while our tongues tease, retreat and advance from the others mouths.

Dragging my fingers lower I stop and twist my fingers in the curls just above my eventual goal. Jax's breath stutters when my knuckle lightly caresses the top of his shaft, the length jumping away from the contact. "Your fingers are freezing."

I giggle, and take my hand away, tucking it between our bodies to warm up the frosty digits "Sorry baby. Not trying to give you frost bite."

Jax laughs, rolling us over and pressing my back to the bed, his thighs trapping one of mine against the bed "It's okay, I'll just have to find somewhere warm and defrost."

My laugh turns into a moan when he drops his head and runs his tongue across the tattoo on my neck, diving down and over the crow. His tongue leaves hot wet trails in its wake, he blows out a slow breath across the trails he's left, my skin prickling with the temperature difference.

Covering me with his body he rests his weight on his knees and hands, his skin only just parted from mine, inhaling fully my chest presses against his and he groans feeling the hard peaks of my nipples and the hard bars pressing into my skin as well as his.

Lowering himself he stops when his body is pressed against mine, his weight not on me but making me unable to move, his mouth attaches to mine again, his tongue working its way into my mouth when I suck in a gasping breath. Lifting one hand he runs it over my arm, linking his fingers through mine and twisting my hand around so it's beside my head on the pillow. Jax slides his hand back down my arm, over my side and up the inside of my thigh, running his fingers lightly across the wing of the phoenix on the inside of my thigh he seems almost shocked when I twist my mouth away from his and suck in heavy breaths beside his ear.

"Jax, please don't tease me. I need you."

Jax blinks slowly and lifts one eyebrow smirking when all I do is nod and lean up, capturing his lips again. His hand parts from my thigh and lands beside me, his thumb against my waist, pressing forwards the tip of his cock slides into me at the same time his mouth reattaches to mine. His thrusts are unhurried even as I lift my hand and curl it around the back of his neck, my fingers tight on his skin. He tries to part is mouth from mine but the further tightening of my fingers draw a groan from his mouth into mine.

Clenching my muscles around him his control seems to fracture exactly as I was hoping. His mouth lifts off mine, his head dropping to my neck again, his teeth brushing over the tattoo on my neck. Twisting my head to the side I open up the side of my neck, Jax's mouth fastening over the point of the shield, sucking lightly his arm curls around me again, holding me against his chest, using one arm he pushes off the bed, pulling me over him as he moves onto his knees. Planting my feet on the bed I start moving against him while he sucks and licks my neck, his tongue tracing over the point where my pulse is pounding under my skin.

The tightening of his hand on my hip is all the warning I have before he starts rocking me against him, his teeth against my skin a sudden spike of pain in my blood that does nothing to lessen the desire in my veins. Moving the hand around his neck into his hair I tug lightly till his mouth parts from my neck, pressing my mouth to his again he frowns when I nip his lower lip lightly, the sudden feeling of him moving again pressing me back to the bed sudden, the whooshing sound of the blankets that are under us makes me giggle, the sound turning into a moan when Jax reattaches his mouth to my neck and sucks hard.

My lips part in a low moan as his movements become more forceful, the twitching of the muscles of his back under my hand a slight warning of his motions. Making his movements longer and harder the fingers in his hair tighten when with a suddenness I wasn't expecting my brain malfunctions.

"Fuck." The word breathes out through my lips, Jax chuckles lightly against my lips, the tugging of my fingers in his hair bringing his attention back to what he was doing; his tongue soothes over the point of my neck a split second before he sucks hard again, the pulsing of his mouth matching the thrusts of his hips.

Jax groans against my skin when my body starts twitching under his, my muscles contracting and relaxing in rapid spasms. Keeping the same movements he stops sucking on my neck, his teeth scratching against my skin in the same moment that my entire body shudders in his arms.

The groan that tears from his mouth when every single one of my muscles tenses sends a wave of glee through my brain that barely registers in the all-consuming feeling of an orgasm that keeps rolling over me in waves so powerful I feel like I'm about to drown.

The huge gasping breaths I'm sucking in make my head spin, the tensing of Jax's muscles under my arms and his own groaning exhalation register as he pulls me against his body so I stop moving, the stuttered exhalation that expels its way out of my lungs carrying a giggle.

Lifting his head he turns to look at me lifting an eyebrow, shaking my head I can't work out why it is that I've laughed but his fingers move making me laugh again and he realises that he's resting his fingertips right over the ticklish point on my hip. Wiggling his fingers I laugh again and he groans, the giggle making my body move in his arms.

Letting go of me and settling me back to the pillows Jax falls onto the pillows beside me, his breath panting gasps that ruffle the loose strands of hair and send gusts of air over my flushed skin.

"That was a better welcome then the 'what are you doing here' I got." Jax says with a grin pulling me to his chest and kissing my forehead lightly.

Smiling up at him I kiss his chest over the L of Abel's name. "I did think of something though baby." 

"What's that?"

"When you're not here if someone did break in I'm completely defenceless."

Jax frowns "I'll work something out." Jax runs his hand over my hair, pulling the loops till the braid falls down onto the pillow behind me. Tugging it lightly he leans down and kisses my forehead. "Go to sleep babe."

I nod, my brain already drifting into sleep "Love you."

The feel of him kissing my forehead again seeps into my sleepy mind "I love you too Sarah Teller. More than you realise."

Smiling against his skin I press another light kiss to his chest and snuggle deeper into his arms.


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Photo of the kitchen on Photobucket. The floor is wrong though; imagine it with black and white tiles.

Wednesday vanishes into a haze of packing more stuff, moving boxes and unpacking at the new house. A trip on Wednesday afternoon with Al to run some errands and pick out a washer and dryer make it easier on me when Thursday morning Kip, Miles and Jax move his ones to the new house. Thursday I spend the entire day at the new house with the piles of newly brought linen washing it and hanging it in the sun in the backyard to dry. Gemma comes over mid Thursday with Doj who gallops around the house like he's always lived there, the appearance of the squishy red couch on the upstairs landing making it home for him.

Helping me get the last of the washing off the line she smiles at me "You ready for the party tomorrow?"

Nodding I lift up the basket "Yeah, I picked up the plates, cups, napkins you ordered, I got a few more of those throw away table cloths. The guys set up all the tables in the back yard last night and the chairs are in the laundry to be put out tomorrow morning. Is there anything I need to make?"

Fully expecting her to tell me to do some baking I'm surprised when she shakes her head "Nope nothing. I ordered a cake from a bakery in Stockton. I'll pick it up tomorrow when I go get the meat. We're doing all the cooking at home then we'll bring it over about 6. Everyone knows not to come over till after then, you'll get the early comers of course, but they can be bullied into helping. Did you invite your family?"

I lift my eyebrows at her snorting "My family will be there, all of them."

Gemma follows me while I set the washing bin on the bottom stair, lifting the pile of napkins and the three table cloths I brought she follows me into the dining room "I mean the Hales."

I shake my head "I didn't see the point. I know you'll probably invite them to the reception. Don't hold your breath on any of them coming. But tomorrow I don't want them to be here, they'll be judgemental and rude about it. None of them even know that Jax and I got married."

Gemma hugs me tightly when I sit the napkins down "It's okay baby."

Sniffing slightly I shake my head "I know, it's stupid to get upset about it." Smiling at her I push the feelings to the back of my brain "Besides, I don't want to have to deal with breaking up fights between Jax and David all night. And I'm still trying to get everyone to keep their knowledge of him leaving quiet. It would be harder if he was here."

Gemma lifts her eyebrow "He's leaving?"

I nod "Didn't anyone tell you?" Shaking her head I chuckle "Guess it really wasn't important. Jax, Clay and Ope know. He's being transferred to Sacramento in January."

Gemma leaves not long after that, my asking her if she was going to help me figure out the linen cupboard had her calling for the dog and dashing out the door faster than I would have expected in the 5 inch stiletto boots she was wearing. Doj trots out behind her, happily jumping into the back of her Escalade, Gemma leans out the window and grins at me as I start to close the front door "You owe me a car grooming by the way. My leather is covered in dog hair."

Laughing at her I wave "Okay grandma."

The builders come up to see me as I'm putting the last of the sheets into the cupboard and the second I see them I know something bad's happened. "What?"

Bob pushes to the front of them with a frown "We had an incident with the bench tops."

Looking around the team of four I assess them all "Okay, there's no blood. Is someone hurt?"

Bob shakes his head and gestures towards the stairs "No, come have a look."

Walking into the kitchen I look around the room speechless. Bob grins at me when I turn a full circle "It's finished?"

Bob nods "Yeah. Mr Oswald said to tell you it was his idea to change the cabinet doors. He said that that much black would be overpowering in here, even with all the light but that if you wanted the other ones he'd get it sorted by Monday."

I nod, looking again at the cabinets. The cabinet's I'd picked were meant to have had their doors painted black and then speckled with white to carry the marble look from the granite but instead they're all white with black handles. The varied levels of bench top mean that when Ellie and Kenny come over they can have bits their own height, the way I'd intended on having the ovens put has been changed, instead of being stacked they're side by side at eye level, the extractor fan over the stove has been hidden by a piece of panelling that makes it seem like it could have once been a chimney. The entire room is flooded with light pouring in the French doors in the corner.

Shaking my head I lean against the bench, something tapping my knee. Looking down I laugh when I realise there's a built in wine rack, a single bottle already in the dips. Pulling it out I look over my shoulder, Bob shrugs again "It arrived last week by courier."

I smile, running my hand over the label. The bottle is one of only 100 that were made the second year after I invested in a winery, the blend named after my parents. The blend I'd laughingly named Nicarale combining parts of Nicki, Charles and Hale all into one word had been harder than choosing a type of wine to have in the bottles.

Ignoring the looks on the builder's faces I slide the bottle back into the rack and stand up "It's amazing."

Bob shrugs "We've still got to come back tomorrow to do the finishing touches, and clean again."

I nod my brain still processing the enormous room and how perfect it's going to be to cook in. Walking around the centre island I pull open a cupboard and find it's not a cupboard but a false cover for the dishwasher.

"I just can't believe it's done so fast. I wasn't expecting to be in here for at least another few weeks."

Bob shrugs again ushering his workers towards the front door "We'll be back about 8am, should be all done here by 5 at the latest."

Still leaning against the counter I nod distractedly thinking about the boxes of things that can now be unpacked. Everything for the kitchen is stacked in the storeroom with my cookbooks which I hadn't unpacked cause of the sawdust still floating around. Having been banned from entering the kitchen while the work was done makes a lot more sense now that I see it, I'd been very confused the previous morning when Bob had come to see me as I arrived telling me they were closing the door off cause of fumes. I hadn't been able to smell a single thing but with Abel in his carrier I'd accepted it without a conversation.

Running my hand along the edge of the black granite bench top I can already see the way I want to set everything out, there's a tiny shelf built into one part of the room which I know will hold my favourite cookbooks, the three I inherited from my mother, including one full of her scribbles of recipe modifications.

It's a combination of Abel babbling from the car seat and my phone ringing that brings me out of the thoughts that have occupied my brain since I stepped into the completed kitchen. Picking up the phone I'm surprised to see before I answer that it's almost 430.

"Hey baby, sorry I got caught up at the house. I'm on my way in a minute."

"That's okay; you need to come to the clubhouse. Ope should be there in a minute to bring you here." Jax's voice is slightly strained.

"Why?"

"Just do it. Please."

"Okay." I hear the sound of a bike coming into the drive and lean over to check Abel's buckles "Ope just pulled in. I'll be there in a few."

Picking up the car seat I don't even get to the door before Opie's in it and holding out his hand for the seat. Passing Abel over to him I pick my bag up from beside the door, alarm the house and lock the door. Following Opie towards Jax's Ram I struggle to keep up with him "Ope what's going on?"

Opie looks down at me and shrugs "I don't know. I was at Bluebird and got a call to come to the lot, but to swing by and make sure you were coming too."

I shake my head but get into the driver's seat waiting till Opie's back on his bike before starting the engine. Following him through the streets of Charming it only takes a few minutes before I'm backing into a space in front of the office. Jax appears at my door and opens it almost before I've turned the truck off.

Jax waits till I'm out of the truck, Gemma lifting Abel and the diaper bag from the back seat and walking towards the office with him. Resting his hand on my shoulder he guides me towards the clubhouse "This guy showed up about 20 minutes ago, I'm not sure how he knew to find you here, but he's waiting inside with Clay and Tig."

I frown slightly as Jax pulls the door open "Who is he?"

Jax shrugs "He said his name was Robert Goldsmith."

"Fuck." I mutter quietly, my eyes closing "What the fuck does he want."


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Jax lets go of the door holding me in place while it swings closed again "Who is he?"

"He's the senior partner in a law firm in Florida; he was my parents' lawyer. I don't know why he's here though."

Jax shrugs "He wouldn't say anything to any of us. The only reason he's inside is Clay recognised him."

I nod "He would, they met a few times back when I was little."

Jax reaches forwards again and opens the door, following me into the darkened room it takes a second for my eyes to adjust, seeing Clay and the old grey haired lawyer sitting at a table, neither of them speaking and both looking rather tense. Crossing the room I slip into the seat between them and twist my head to look at the older of the two men "Mr Goldsmith. What are you doing here?"

Opening his briefcase he pulls out a pile of paperwork and sets it on top of the table "The recent events in your life have made my visit necessary. With your marriage, which your lawyer informed me of, the final parts of your parents' estate get released."

I can't do anything but stare at him, my brain has stopped working but it's Jax's voice that breaks through the haze "What final parts?"

Shaking my head I attempt to clear the clouds from between my ears "I thought it was all done when I turned 18?"

Shaking his head he flicks through the pages of my parents will that I'd seen dozens of times, the additional two pages he slides across the table are new, along with the fat envelopes resting on top of them. I barely look at them for a second before recognition floods my bloodstream; the curly writing on one belongs to my mother while the block lettering on the other is my father's handwriting.

"Your parents wrote you a letter each year on your birthday. They are in those envelopes. The other pages are the remainder of your inheritance that was put in trust for either your 25th birthday or the day you got married, whichever came first."

Picking the entire bundle up I lurch to my feet and run for the door, my feet moving faster than my mind in that moment, the last two times I'd sat with my parents lawyer had been the day their will was read and I found out I was being shipped across country like some piece of pretty furniture and the day I had millions of dollars dumped into my lap.

Getting to the driver's door of the truck I stop mid movement where I am, one hand on the door handle and the other clenched around the papers in my hand. Taking several deep breaths I lean my forehead against the window of the truck.

The sound of footsteps running across the lot register a second before Jax wraps his arms around me, pulling me to his chest and running his hands over my hair "You okay babe?"

I shrug "I don't know. Nothing registered after seeing Mom and Dad's writing."

Jax chuckles "Well the old guy didn't seem surprised when you ran."

I nestle closer to his chest "I did that the last time I saw him in New York. He'd just dropped the million dollar bombshell on me."

Jax puts his fingers under my chin and tilts my head so I'm looking up at him "Well this time you've got me to help, and Clay's still in there too. Piney and Opie are on their way out to see Laroy with Tig and Bobby so the clubhouse is empty."

I nod, letting him pull me back towards the doors, my body curled under his arm.

Sitting back down in the chair I apologise to both Clay and Mr Goldsmith first and the long look I get in reply from Clay makes me wince, Robert's quiet shake of his head all the disapproval I need from him, not that I'd want his approval anyway.

Clearing his throat he picks up the papers from where I'd dropped them "As I was saying, these are the last bits of your parents' estate. The letters which you obviously can take when you leave and post-marriage/25th birthday parts. Do you want me to go over it all?"

I shake my head "Not really, just give me the highlights. I'll read it all later; I trust that Patrick already has a copy?"

Robert nods his head once turning one sheet over "I assumed you would only want the 'highlights' as you did with the rest of your inheritance. This part is rather simple. The remaining funds are released and the stocks that have been held will be merged into your portfolio. Full control over the donation distribution is turned over to you as well."

Each sentence makes my brow furrow a little more "Okay, so maybe I need more than the highlights."

Robert sighs "I thought as much. The remaining funds are the simple part. A further 5 million dollars will be processed through to whichever avenue you want, your lawyer or your own accounts?"

"Send it to Patrick." I answer without thinking "The same with the stocks, they can be merged as planned. What I want to know is donation distribution?"

Turning the pages to me he flicks the top one over "One account your mother set up was solely for charitable donations. All interest is donated wherever you wish; the only conditions are that it's a yearly cycle. You may not repeat a charity within a 5 year span."

"So where have they been going for the past 10 years?"

"The first 5 years they were being sent to charities to assist with senses. Three for sight and two for hearing. The last 5 years they have been split between 5 different charities for returned servicemen and women, both who have been injured in combat and those who required assistance settling back into normal lives."

I nod and he flicks the page over "The stocks that will be merged are a further 5 million dollars' worth. The investment accounts are registered completely seperately to the Hale Trust which is the company your parents set up for them."

I lean against the back of the chair I'm in and sigh "This is just stupid. I don't need all this money appearing." Jax reaches over and picks up my hand, stroking his fingers across my knuckles lightly.

Pressing my hands to my face I take a second in darkness to attempt to absorb some of what I'm being told. Shaking my head and sitting up again I squeeze Jax's fingers "Okay, anything else?"

Robert shakes his head "No that's all. The last thing you have to do is fill in these forms."

Picking up the three pages I roll my eyes briefly at the thought of still using carbon paper, but in situations like this it's easier than having to do the same information multiple times. The 4 paragraphs simply say that I've had all the information explained to me and that the directions have been given. Filling in the lines where it asks where the various things are to be distributed I sign the bottom of the page and hand it back.

"Is that it? You're not going to show up in another few years and drop more stuff on me are you?" 

Robert tucks the pages into his briefcase after tearing the middle one out for me and shakes his head and gets up, crossing the dimly lit clubrooms towards the door. "That's it. You shan't see me again Miss Hale."

"Mrs Teller." I correct him following him towards the door "After all, this visit was because I got married."

An incline of his head is all I get as he settles into the driver's seat of a new sedan and starts the engine. "Good luck Mrs Teller."

Lifting my hand halfway up I drop it back to my side when he reverses out of the park and pulls out of the lot. Jax's hand drops on my shoulder and I lean back "Can I run away now?"

Leading me to the car he nods "Sure you can. I'll get the base out of the back and get Ma to bring Abel home later. Go do whatever it is you need to do."

Handing the two envelopes to me he kisses my forehead "Just remember, I'm here for you."

"I'm not going anywhere out of the lot baby. I just need some time. I'll be on the roof, K?"

Jax nods and let's go of my hand, watching me as I cross to the ladder and up, my feet almost silent on the rungs as I climb towards the sky.


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Pulling one of the cushions from the huge bin on the roof I sit down, leaning against the wall. Simply holding the letters in my hands makes me feel closer to my parents. Easily telling which one of them was more into writing the letters the envelope from my mother is twice the thickness of the one from my father.

Lifting the flap on the back of the thinner envelope the entire contents is 13 pages, one a year from my birth till the year they died. Each has been marked with the year it was written in the top corner.

Picking the first one up I check the date, it's marked as June 3rd. The entire letter is only one line, two sentences.

**June 3. Today I found out I'm going to be a father. Wow.**

Flicking through them all I see each one is barely a paragraph or two long.

Reading through the letters slowly the short sentences that jump out at me make me laugh, the one written the day I was born brings a smile to my face.

**December 25. The love in my life doubled today, you arrived as most people were sitting down for their Christmas dinners.**

Random other lines, where he'd written that I'd discovered a love of cooking shortly after my 6th birthday, the disastrous birthday cake I'd tried to make him the year I was 8 and grabbed the salt instead of sugar. The year I turned 10 and decided I didn't like my hair and cut it all off. Laughing as I set the last one down, written a few weeks before the accident it's almost the same as the rest, I can almost hear my father's voice in the words he wrote.

**January 2. Your birthday this year was subdued. Clay couldn't come which lead to you sulking in your room most of the day. He's bringing his family out in a few months for a surprise visit to see you; I hope you love them as much as you love him.**

The visit, Clay and Gemma's honeymoon, had never happened. A little over a month later I was an orphan being sent across the country. The most unfortunate thing I find about that is that I do love Clay's family as much as I love him, his step-son I love more than I would have imagined I was able to.

Folding the letters and putting them back into the envelope I sit it down beside me, the ones from my mother still on my lap. Lifting the envelope up I open the back and pull the pages out.

Hearing a noise from beside me I look up and into Jax's eyes "You okay babe?"

Nodding at him I smile, the stretching of my lips slightly melancholic "I'm okay, it's funny though. Daddy was never a big one for showing emotions but he had this way of surrounding you in the knowledge you were loved."

Jax hoists himself over the ledge and sits beside me, pulling me to his side "You don't talk about them much."

I shrug, wiggling a little closer to his body "I guess I don't cause it makes me sad to think about them not being here."

Jax reaches over and squeezes my hand "Babe they are here though." Lifting my head he looks down at me and smiles "Your mom is in your eyes, your dad is in your smile. The best parts of them are in you, and you carry them in your heart with you every day. From what I do know about them they loved you more than anything. You won't forget them and you won't forget the love they had for you."

"I know that I'll always remember them, maybe once a year I have an off day. Today will be it for the year." Smiling up at him I know the gesture looks a little happier.

Jax kisses my forehead softly before getting to his feet "We're about to sit down for a while, come inside when you're ready?"

I nod and squeeze his fingers lightly "Nothing's going wrong? It's not normal for you guys to go to Church on a Thursday."

Jax shakes his head "Nah it's all good babe."

"Okay." I can see the slight uncertainty in his eyes but choose to ignore it, he'll tell me if and when I need to know.

Jax disappears back down the ladder and I look back down at the pages on my knee.

The top of the page of my mother's writing is dated the same date as the one from my father, the script of _03 June_. The first letter it split into several chunks, each only a paragraph under a different date, filling 4 pages.

_03 June_

_My darling child,_

_Today your father and I discovered that you were going to be arriving in 6 short months. It seems years of prayers for a child have finally been answered. You're loved with immense amounts already and you have yet to take your first breath._

_Love, Mommy_

_12 July_

_My darling child,_

_Today we were told you're expected to be with us in the middle of December. I'm counting the days. Your father has already brought and put together a crib for you, taking it apart 5 times before he was certain it was correctly assembled._

_Love, Mommy_

_8 August_

_My darling child,_

_The amount of things we've brought for you is amazing, crib, car seat, changing table, clothes, dresser, diapers, books and toys and we still have 4 months till your arrival. We have a calendar in the kitchen where we've marked off each day. Your due on December 17__th__._

_Love, Mommy_

_28 September_

_My darling child,_

_The third trimester, you've started moving like you should be a football player, or the way my insides feel perhaps hockey would be better, I'm sure my organs are black and blue by now. I'm loving every second of it._

_Love, Mommy_

_2 October_

_My darling child,_

_A little over two months to go. I no longer fit any of my clothes and I am still loving every second of it. Your father thinks you will be a boy after a particularly violent kick he received to his kidneys last night; I'm not making any guesses. As long as you are healthy that is all that matters to me._

_Love, Mommy._

_29 November_

_My darling child,_

_Less than 3 weeks to go now. Your father thinks I'm strange that I write something for you each month. My insistence to him of writing something when I told him ended up with a paragraph. He has promised he will write something once a year, I am grateful for that. We discussed the letters and decided that we will continue to do a letter per year and give them to you when you turn 18._

_Love, Mommy_

_19 December_

_My darling child,_

_I'm now 2 days over the date you were expected. Your father jumps at every noise, the hospital bag is beside the front door and during one of his 'reactive brain farts' (his words not mine) he ended up in the car and at the end of the street before he realised that I was still sitting on the sofa. Let's hope he doesn't continue his forgetfulness._

_Love, Mommy_

_Very late at night 24 December, in fact it may be 25 December_

_My darling child,_

_We're anxiously awaiting your arrival, my water has yet to break, but I have been having contractions, very mild ones, for almost 3 hours._

_Love, Mommy_

_26 December_

_My Darling Daughter,_

_You arrived at 1208pm yesterday, a wonder with a set of lungs that could make a deep sea diver proud. Your father and I have named you Sarah Gretchen, in years to come you will probably hate your name, but your grandmothers were strong women and I'm sure you will carry their names with the same strength they did._

_Love, Mommy_

The next letter is dated a full year later and flicking through the other pages I find each of them is the same, all dated between the December 26 and January 2.

Each letter from my mother is almost the same, telling me a short story about something I had done that year, marking milestones in my development. The year I turned 5 there's a badly sketched image of my school logo. Reading Mom's account of my meeting with Clay is funny, it's written almost exactly how I'd been told, the only addition was that I tried to feed Clay while he was attempting to give me lunch. The last letter is similar to the one from Daddy as well, the mention of Californian visitors to come and the hope that I'll get on with their son who's only a year older than I am.

Running my hand over the pages I lean back again, sitting in silence for a while, the lot is almost silent and glancing down at my watch I realise why. It's almost 630; the garage is closed for the night, all the mechanics have gone home. Shoving the letters back into the envelope I descend the ladder as quick as I can, my feet landing on the pavement as the office door opens.

Gemma sticks her head out and calls me over "Abel's in here baby, they guys are still inside."

I head in her direction, pulling the door open and stepping through it "Sorry Gem. I didn't mean to drop him on you and run."

Gemma laughs and shakes her head "its fine. He's been a good boy. But he's out of bottles now."

The one that he's just finished by the look of his sleepy eyes would have been the third of the ones I packed that morning. Nodding at her I pick him up and walk around the office slowly "Did Jax tell you who that guy was and what he wanted?"

Gemma nods "Yeah, something about more stuff from your folks?"

"Yeah, letters and more inheritance that I don't want." I sit down on the sofa, curling Abel's blanket around him a little tighter in the slightly chilly room "It was weird seeing things they'd wrote to me. Mom intended on writing me a letter a year till I was 18 and giving them to me then. I guess I wonder why I wasn't given them when I turned 18."

Gemma shrugs, turning off her computer and the desk lamp, dropping her glasses to the desk with a sigh "You may have to ask."

Shaking my head I look down at Abel's sleeping face "No, its better that they came now. At 18 I wouldn't have read them. The trusts being released made me mad at them again for dying. Now, I guess I'm more relaxed. I still hate it that they're dead, I'm still upset that they don't get to see things but I realised that no amount of hate, anger, sadness or me feeling upset is going to bring them back."

Gemma crosses to me, sitting down beside me and curling her arm around my shoulders "Have you considered going back to Palm Beach? Reconnect with the memories."

Shaking my head I rest my temple on her shoulder "No. There really isn't any point of going back. There's nothing there but ghosts."

Gemma runs her hand over my hair softly "You know you can always talk to Clay about your folks. He didn't know your Mom well but I know he has some stories about your Dad."

I lean back and smile up at her "I know."

The door beside us opens and Jax leans in "We're all done if you're ready to go babe. Ma, Clay's gonna be over in a minute."

Gemma nods, getting to her feet and helping me up. Jax lifts the car seat off the floor and carries it over to the truck, waiting beside me while I lower Abel into it. His eyelids barely flutter when I click the belts around him. Closing the door softly I step back and spot my Nitro in the corner "When are you going to get around to that baby. I really would like my truck back."

Jax runs his hand over his face "I'm not sure. Next week probably, there was a bit of a backlog from our trip and Ma's trying to get everything in out of the way before we have to go again."

Walking around the truck he follows me, waiting till I'm settled in the seat with my belt on before closing the door "Jax, if she needs you guys here you can stay."

Jax shakes his head, planting both hands on the open window frame "Not happening. Al has to go, D won't let you go without her and neither Juice nor Ope will let them leave the state without them. And if you think that I'm letting you go alone I'd better go ring the men with the white coats."

I laugh "I like those coats, they let me hug myself."

Jax shakes his head and steps back from the truck with a chuckle "See you at home."


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

The house smells like a winters night when I open the door, the slow cooker I'd left going all day with the casserole in it is bubbling away slowly in the kitchen gets a quick stir to make sure it's all cooked. Jax walks in the door not long after me, after stirring dinner I'd taken Abel down the hall to give him a quick bath and get him ready for bed. The water is running into the plastic bath insert that I'd left in the bathroom from the changing table, Jax lifts Abel out of my arms and watches while I add some baby bubbles and test the water.

It's cute watching Jax struggle to bath his son, he can't keep a good grip on Abel's slippery limbs and each time Abel moves a small wave of water sweeps across the side of the bath and lands on Jax's shirt or jeans. By the time Abel is clean Jax is soaked from the middle of his chest to the top of his knees, stripping his jeans off he drops them with a wet splat "Okay so it makes more sense now why you give him a bath in a bathrobe."

I nod, giggling as he struggles to lift the wet shirt over his head "I'll take him and get him dried and dressed if you want to shower now. Dinner will wait."

Jax nods turning the shower on as I leave with the towel wrapped wiggling bundle. "Can you empty the bath too please?" I call over my shoulder walking through into Abel's room.

Drying him off and dressing in one of the many SAMCRO suits that Gemma brought when he was born I carry him down the hall, heating another bottle and tucking the teat into his mouth as I walk back into the living room. By the time Jax comes back through dressed in clean jeans and a shirt Abel's fed and sound asleep, his weight heavy in my arms.

"I'll get dinner sorted if you want to take him to bed?" Jax nods, crossing to where I was curled in the armchair, lifting Abel from my arms and taking him down the hall.

Spooning some of the beef, carrots, garlic, onions and potatoes into two bowls I set them on the table as Jax comes back down the hall "He's out for the count."

I nod "He'll probably be up about 3 I'd say. I'll make up some more bottles when we're done with dinner."

Jax nods, dipping his spoon into his bowl "You ready for tomorrow? Ma hasn't told me anything about what's happening other than she'll be here early to start setting up and she wants everyone here by 8."

I roll my eyes, nodding "I'm not sure the logic of having people arrive when he's already in bed, but I'll try and get him to have a longer than normal nap during the day."

"Is there anything I can do around here?"

I shake my head, finishing my mouthful "No, we're all set for the final move on Saturday. Tomorrow I'm going to go to the new house while Gem sets up here so I can get all the dishes washed and put away, I didn't have time today. Then all we have to do is move Abel's stuff, the last of our clothes and the other table and chairs for the kitchen, then there's moving D and Ope in here with the kids."

"And the stuff in the barn to sort through." Jax reminds me.

I sigh and nod "Yeah, but I don't think that there really is that much in there. Maybe a truck full of boxes, I'll ask Uncle Jacob about it."

After finishing dinner Jax goes into the living room and sits down in front of the TV. "Hey babe come here a second."

Sticking my head through the door "What's up?"

"Well I sat down here and remembered something." Jax says with a grimace.

"We haven't brought a TV or stereo for the living room at the new house." I say, resting on the arm of the chair.

Jax nods "Yeah that's it."

"You and Ope have to go pick all the stuff for here and them when they move, don't know if you want to include Juice or not, cause they'll need stuff too."

Jax sighs as he starts pulling plugs from the back of the DVD player "Where's this stuff going in the new house?"

I slide down onto the chair properly "Well it can go in the games room or into the living room. I don't know if you want a TV in the bedroom as well or not?"

Jax looks over at me at lifts his eyebrows "I'll see what I can find. I'll go Saturday and look for stuff." I'm shaking my head before he can finish his sentence "What?"

"You can't go on Saturday, that's when we're doing the final move. Unless you want to do the shopping on Saturday and the move on Sunday."

Jax looks up "I think we'll do that way. Sunday morning we'll get up early and move the last of our stuff then help Ope and D move themselves here."

"I'll ask D tomorrow if she's setting up the kids beds here or waiting till the new house is built."

Jax nods piling all the cables beside him as he unplugs them. Retrieving a box from the kitchen I drop it beside him. Leaving him to his spaghetti junction of cables I return to the kitchen, the line-up of bottles along the bench waiting for formula and water. In between making up the bottles I box up everything else from the pantry that's not going to be used over the next couple of days. By the time I'm finished the only things left in the pantry is a box of cereal, half a box of pasta, a can of tomatoes an onion, half a dozen eggs and a stick of butter.

Sliding the box onto the table I look around the room, if not for the pile of empty boxes sitting in the corner waiting for any last minute stuff it wouldn't be noticeable that someone is moving, until cupboard doors are opened and the lack of contents becomes obvious.

Pouring the water into the baby bottles I shake them before setting them back on the bench to cool, hoisting myself onto the bench beside them I run through my mental list of everything to do. I still haven't rung about changing my name but it's easily enough done with a single phone call to Patrick to get him to do it all, now that he's back from his week long holiday in the middle of nowhere. Jax appears in the doorway as I shake the final bottle and set it down on the bench.

"All done?" I ask, leaning my head against the cupboard door.

"Yep." He pulls one of the last bottles of beer from the fridge, his double take is almost funny when he realises there's nothing in there bar 4 bottles of beer, 3 now, half a bottle of milk a bottle of juice and about an inch of cheese. "You need to go shopping?"

I poke my tongue out at him and shake my head "Nope. That's all we'll need for the next couple of days. Everything else is at the new house. I was thinking though, do you want to pick up a fridge for the games room, there's a space by the bar to put one in and that saves my fridge from being overloaded with booze."

Jax laughs and crosses the room "I'll have a look Saturday and see. Is there anything important to do tonight?"

I shake my head again "Nope. Gem's gonna be here early while you're at work. Like I said before I'm going to the new house to wash all the kitchen stuff. I'll take the rest of the food and anything else that's good to go. What do you want to wear Saturday and Sunday?"

Jax sets his beer down and shrugs "I don't know. Whatever. Why?"

"Cause I'll take all the other clothes over tomorrow as well. I might move the change table and most of Abel's clothes as well that way all there is left are the crib, dressing table and day bed to move on Sunday. And the stuff on the walls."

Jax reaches over and clamps his hand over my mouth "You're doing it again. Slow the fuck down before I handcuff you to the bed for an entire day."

My eyes widen and I shake my head furiously a small wave of panic flooding my blood stream. Jax notices the way my skin has lost all colour and lifts his hand "Sorry Sarah. I didn't think."

I inhale a few deep breaths, my racing pulse slowing to normal while Jax stands there and watches me, his arms hanging by his sides. It takes a few minutes that feel like hours for my body to completely relax. Sliding off the bench I step up to Jax and wrap my arms around his waist "I'm sorry baby. I know you would never hurt me." Jax looks down, his eyes searching my face slowly. Keeping my gaze locked on him he eventually nods and hugs me tightly.

"I just have to remember sometimes, remind me if I fuck up, K?" Jax's voice is muffled where he's pressing his lips to my hair.

I tighten my grip around him, my fingers digging into his back "I'll try. I guess it's just I'm a little sensitive today. That shit with the lawyer, reading the letters from Mom and Dad and the date tomorrow have all added to make me a little jumpy."

Jax pulls his head back and frowns "What about tomorrow?"

I squeeze closer to him, my arms locked around his waist "Tomorrow is a year since I was...locked up." All the other ways to word it don't seem right in my brain.

Jax's arms tighten around me, my entire body pressed to him "Are you sure about having the party tomorrow then?"

I nod, my chin brushing his shirt "Yeah I'll be fine. Keep it quiet please?"

Jax grunts in disapproval but agrees with a small movement against my head. "I will, as long as you head to bed now, you've done enough today."

"I just need to put these bottles into the fridge and I'm all done." Jax picks up the bottles lined across the bench and takes them to the fridge. Closing the door he turns around and grins at me.

"All done." Jax crosses back to me, bending over he wraps his arms around my thighs and lifts me up, my body falling over his shoulder.

Jax doesn't set me back on my feet till we're at the foot of the bed. Lifting his hands to the sides of my face he leans down and presses a kiss to my lips "I'm going to go make sure the doors are all locked and check on Abel. I'll be back."

I can hear Jax walking around as I get changed, pulling on one of the SONS shirts I've hijacked to sleep in, the soft dark blue material falling to my mid-thighs. The smell of Jax clinging to the material.

By the time Jax comes back into the room I'm curled under the blankets with my head buried in the pillows "All good out there baby?"

Jax nods "Yeah, you'd left the back door wide open."

"Oops." I watch as he walks around the room. "Before you dump those clothes on the floor, the box by the dressing table is the dirty washing. Drop them there please?"

Jax flicks his eyes to the roof but let's go of his t-shirt into the box, his jeans following that with his socks dropped on the top. "Happy?"

I nod "Yes thank you Jax."

Jax laughs, lifting the blankets and sliding under them waiting while I shuffle over and rest my head on his shoulder. Jax tugs my hair lightly till I look up at him "You okay babe?"

I nod, my cheek sticking slightly to his skin "Yeah, excited for the move though. I doubt I'll sleep the next couple of nights."

Jax grins "I'll help you sleep whenever you need, you just have to ask babe."

I giggle burrowing my nose into his neck "As long as you're beside me and you don't object to me sniffing you we're all good."

Jax shakes his head "What is it with you and smelling me?"

I shrug as much as I can "You smell good. And do I need a reason other than that?"

Jax kisses the top of my head "Of course not."

Tilting my head up I kiss his lips lightly, but a shuffling noise from the baby monitor beside me makes me stop mid movement. The soft squeak I'd heard turns into a sniffily cry then a louder one till Abel's crying proves he's not going back to sleep.

"Your son is a cock blocker at less than 3 months old." I grumble getting out of the bed "I'll be back."

It's over an hour later when I finally get Abel settled back into his crib, feeding him and changing his diaper he still hadn't been happy when I set him down to go back to sleep, no amount of soft music playing and the lights of the mobile around the room had made him sleepy. It'd taken reading him 2 of the books still unpacked and rocking him for almost 30 minutes before he'd fallen asleep.

I'm not surprised, only slightly disappointed when I find Jax sound asleep, climbing into the bed behind him I wrap my arm over his side and wiggle into the warmth of his back. Closing my eyes I press a kiss to the centre of his back right over the first A in the Anarchy tattoo that covers his entire back. He barely stirs with the fingers of my hand pressed to his stomach, the ridges of his muscles under my fingertips.


	22. Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Gemma wakes both Jax and I up before 7 with coffee. Abel had woken up again at 3am; another long stretch of trying to get him back to sleep meant I wasn't back in bed till almost 5am. The smell of coffee permeates my brain as Jax moves and starts speaking softly.

"Ma, she's been awake half the night. Let her sleep another couple of hours. Abel had a really rough night."

I lift my head off the pillows "No, I'm awake." The words are slurred to my own ears and Jax and Gemma both laugh at me.

"Go back to sleep baby, Jax is going to work soon. I'll be around starting to sort stuff for the party and I'll look after our baby. I'll come back and wake you up later. Or come see me when you wake up on your own. Okay?" Gemma picks up the coffee she'd set on my bedside table, taking it with her as she leaves the room.

Jax leans over and kisses me, my head falling back onto the pillows with a sigh "Okay. I'll give."

Jax laughs, sliding out of the bed and grabbing clothes for the day from the diminishing pile on the dresser, the draws of it are completely empty and the only things left on the top are the clothes for the party tonight and the ones I'd intended on wearing to move, I manage to make a mental note to bring at least one clean outfit each back from the new house before my eyes close and I end up sound asleep again.

It's a combination of the bed bouncing and giggles right by my ears that wake me up later in the day. The room is bright enough that I can tell the sun is high in the sky. Turning over I discover the source of the bouncing and giggles all in one, Ellie and Kenny are sitting on the bed, Doj rolling on his back between them as they both scratch his belly. Propping myself up on my elbow I look at the three of them and smile "What are you two ragamuffins doing to my poor puppy."

Donna chuckles from the doorway "Those ragamuffins have been tormenting your poor puppy all week. He barely gets to sleep before one of them is calling him. The only time he gets to rest is at night, and meal times."

Laughing I reach over and rub my fingers over the bottom of his chin his head flopping back, his mouth falling open. Ellie and Kenny start laughing at Doj, his mouth twitching as he breaths.

Donna sits on the edge of the bed, her hand resting on Doj's back leg lightly "He really has been good with the kids though, how did you manage to get such a well behaved dog when he's so huge?"

I sit up slowly "If I was going to make any suggestion when you guys decide on a dog, obedience training. You go through it, not Ope cause you'll be the one he will be around every day. Do make sure though that you teach him basic things to listen to anyone on."

Donna nods "Sure. Anything else o wise one?"

I giggle, running my hand over my head "Yeah, I'll take a coffee, maybe some toast?"

Donna pokes her tongue out at me "Coffee I can do, there's a pot in the kitchen. Toast, well it's almost 11am, you sure you don't want lunch instead?"

My eyes widen "Really? I slept another 4 hours? How?"

Donna motions towards the baby monitor, its normal green light showing it's on is dark "Jax turned that off before he left. He said you were sound asleep before he'd even left the room." Donna gets up and waves to her kids "Come on, let's let Aunty S get dressed, Grandma has cookies in the kitchen."

Ellie and Kenny squeal as they jump off the bed, Doj rolling over and following them, Donna trailing behind, pulling the door closed as she goes. Pulling a pair of jeans up my legs and a clean shirt over my head I follow the sound of many female voices towards the kitchen. Leaning against the doorframe I'm surprised at the number of people crammed into the space. Donna is at the table with the kids eating cookies while she slices through an enormous pile of tomatoes, sliding them all into a bowl. Lyla and Cherry are at one side of the kitchen bench wrapping ears of corn in tin foil like I'd shown Gemma. Al and Cam are in the laundry, by the looks of it stacking bottles of beer and wine into the sink which is full of ice, Luann sticks her head in through the open front door beside me and pats my arm lightly.

"Morning sleepy." I smile at her and turn to look at the women in my kitchen.

"What can I do?"

Gemma picks up the coffee pot from beside her, pouring some into a mug and handing it to me before turning her attention back to the huge pot in front of her "You can sit and drink that."

I walk round the kitchen, hugging each of the people there and whispering thanks. When I get to Al and Cam I lean over their shoulders "Add some salt and water to that, it'll get them cold faster and keep them colder longer."

Al lifts her eyebrows and I nod "It works. Trust me chicky."

Gemma throws over a bag of salt from the pile of food that's appeared around the room shaking her head when I tip half the ¼ pound bag over the ice and turn the cold tap on full. Waiting till the full bottles are floating in the salty liquid I smile "It's a catering trick. If there's more that needs cooling in a hurry do the same thing. They'll be cold in less than an hour."

They all look sceptically at me but I just shrug "Fine, don't believe me. If everything is under control here I'm going over to the new house."

Gemma nods and waves her hand towards the door "Sure, Jax said you were going over there today. The back of his truck is loaded with the last of the boxes from here. The guys will be here at 5, they're going to set up the chairs and bring the rest of the tables then leaving again."

I finish my coffee and drop the cup into the dishwasher "Where's Abel?"

Gemma lifts an eyebrow "He's sleeping at the moment. You leave him here, you'll be back sooner without him there."

The mental checklist running through my brain of what I have to do isn't long, only the kitchen stuff to get through the dishwasher and the cookbooks and baking things that had been left to unpack. I'm just pulling the door open when Cam appears in the doorway "Do you want any help?"

Shaking my head I squeeze her into a hug "Nah, its all kitchen stuff and you know how fussy I am about that."

Cam laughs, nodding at me "Does Jax?"

Gemma's voice drifts through the door "I'm pretty sure he remembers from the entire weekend she spent reorganising my kitchen. And how long she spent on the one at the clubhouse."

Cam let's go of my shoulder "I'll send you a text later to remind you to come back. What time?"

"430, I want to be back before anything is set up." I know Gemma will have worked out how she wants the yard done but I'd like to be there to help move furniture around.

Cam nods watching as I climb into the driver's seat of Jax's truck, jogging over "You sure you don't want a hand?"

I glance in the rear view mirror and look at the amount of boxes, nodding towards the passenger's seat she smirks "Thought so." Jumping into the seat she pulls her phone from her pocket and dials a number as I back out of the drive. "Ali-bean I'm going with S. She realised she needed help."

Cam laughs "I'm going to tell her that." Looking over at me she smiles "Al said you need more help then we can give."

Poking my tongue out at Cam I roll my eyes "I knew that years ago. Did you not get the memo?"

Cam hangs up not long after, watching the streets as we drive through them, it's an average Friday late morning, there's cars around and people walking down the streets but the town still has a sleepy feeling. Looking over at me when I flick my indicator on to turn into the drive "How did you manage the difference from here to New York? It's like different planets."

Backing the truck as close to the doors as I can I wait till I've turned the car off, the drive empty apart from us. For the first time since I brought the house there's no tradesmen around, the grass hasn't been sorted yet and Elliot's still waiting for approval for the other garage to be built, with the inside completely done Jax promised he'd sort the alarm company to come and change the codes, and the locksmith to change the locks again.

Shaking my head as I jump out of the truck, opening the back door "I was so out of place the first few weeks there. I'd been there a month when I met you and I was still trying to adjust. Coming home reminded me how much I prefer the slow life. Charming is my speed."

Cam laughs, lifting one of the boxes from the backseat and following me towards the door waiting while I unlock and disarm the alarm "I can tell. Even though you've been doing way too much it's still half speed when you think about what you used to do in New York."


	23. Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. One-shot of Cam/Happy/Happy's mom will also be posted today.

Cam's phone alarm goes off at 415 and she comes to find me in the kitchen where the second to last batch of glasses were coming out of the dishwasher and into the cupboards "It's time to go S. Your cookbooks are all sorted. Exactly like you had them."

I laugh and follow her through to the storage room where the 6 shelf book cases covering one wall of the room is now hidden by the unpacked cookbooks. She points to the top "I've got the books that cover all courses on the 2nd shelf, 3rd shelf are savoury only and 4th is desserts. The very top shelf I left empty cause it's too high and the bottom shelf I left empty for you to put your display thingies on."

I nod, looking at the length of the shelf, the four section cabinet is only half full on each shelf and Cam reads the look in my eyes "That doesn't mean you go nuts shopping for more cookbooks S."

Poking my tongue out at her I hug her tightly "Thanks Cammy."

"No prob-lame-o." Cam mutters into my hair "Now we better go before your backyard is taken over."

I make an over exaggerated point of looking out the back windows in the kitchen "Nope, no one there taking over."

Cam shoves me towards the door "Don't be a smart ass. You know what I meant."

Stopping to realarm the house and lock the door again I pause, leaning against the railing "Cammy can you be honest with me. What's going on with you and Hap?"

Cam looks over at me, frowning slightly "What do you mean? There's nothing going on."

I snort at her, dropping down to sit on the step, tugging her down beside me "I wasn't born yesterday."

Cam shrugs "You tell me, what have you seen?"

Twisting slightly so I can look at her and read the expressions I know so well on her face "You said the first time I asked that you'd fucked, but you seemed very confident that you could have him again whenever you wanted. I don't want details; really I don't, but why?"

Cam shakes her head "That's not all, I know you. You wouldn't ask me unless you've already formed an opinion."

I cough out a laugh "Okay, you're right, I do have an opinion. I think you're in deep with him and you've suddenly realised that once he finds someone he can love he's an 'all or nothing' kinda guy and it scares the shit out of you." Cam waves her hand in a 'come on' gesture and I cock my head to the side in silent acquisition, taking a deep breath "When you came to the house the other morning it took a touch from him for you to calm down, he was never more than arm's length away from you, your whole body language towards each other shows a level of comfort I've never seen you have with _anyone_ other than Al and I. Even Derek you aren't as content around."

Running my hands through my hair I tug lightly before continuing "There's the fact that you marked him in a very visible place. Those scratches on his arm they weren't light, he would have known they were going to show and he let you. I've never seen him with anything like that before, and I've known Hap for 10 years. You went with him to Bakersfield, the only women associated with the club that he has ever introduced his Mom to is Gemma, Donna and me. You've been staying with him at the Clubhouse, and as far as I know will be until you fly home on Sunday. For Hap having the same woman in his bed two nights in a row is a big thing. By the time you leave that will be over a week. So cut the shit and tell me what is happening with you and Hap."

Cam sighs, leaning against the railing "I hate you. I really do."

I smile at her and shake my head "Nah you don't. You hate that I'm making you put it into words."

"Happy and I did talk. Did you know he pays for all his Moms meds?" I nod and Cam frowns "They're stretching him beyond belief. I offered to help, mainly so his Mom wouldn't see how much he's stressing over it but he refused telling me it was his place to support his Mom."

I pat her hand "Cam he wouldn't accept it no matter what. I hate to say it like this but you're an outsider. You're one of my best friends and he's sleeping with you but that doesn't mean that he's going to accept charity. It's not a Sons way."

Cam sighs "He said that. Told me not to be offended but the day he took money from a woman is the same day he'd voluntarily be castrated. Well he didn't word it like that."

I snort "I bet he said the day he took cash from pussy he'd cut his own dick off?"

Cam nods "Yeah pretty much. I don't think he was expecting me to be insulted though. I mean, calling me pussy. That's just wrong, especially seeing we're so close to getting his Mom to agree to move."

"Really?" I know I sound stunned, almost everyone in the club, patch and Old Lady had attempted at some point to get Happy's Mom to move to Charming and the closest we'd ever gotten was her not screaming at us. "Like, how close?"

Cam grins at me and the smile lights her whole face up "Like she said she would on the proviso Hap can find a decent house with a detached unit for her."

I squeal and wrap my arms around her shoulders "You have no idea how amazing that is. You got that on one visit?"

Cam nods "Yeah, Hap will need help finding something though. Can you, D and Al start looking for him cause he's so caught up with shit at the moment with his Mom that it won't happen. And you have to go visit her more. You and D being here with the kids was kinda the final nail on her moving."

I nod, my head swimming "Of course, the only reason I haven't gone is with everything happening around here it's a bit hard to get a few minutes silence let alone a day to go see Maria. I'll talk to him about it tonight and then Mandy. But, we're off the topic. Do you see a future in Charming?"

Cam shakes her head "No I don't." Looking at me through her lashes she bites her lower lip "I've got this movie in LA till at least February next year and it's not a short drive." If I didn't know her as well as I do I'd miss the sadness in her eyes.

"And you think Hap will have gotten over whatever it is that he's interested in by then?"

Cam looks up at me "Am I that obvious?"

"To me, yes. It's less than 5 hours from here to LA; I will come down there at least once a month and bring you back if I have to. I'm sure if you asked him he'd come see you too."

Cam shakes her head "I can't."

"Why?" I get up and pace a little on the deck, ignoring the glances she keeps taking at her phone "Why can't you ask him to come see you, why are you trying to sabotage what could be great?"

Cam shrugs "I'm not trying to sabotage anything."

"Bullshit!" I snap at her, my eyes narrowing "You are and I don't know why." Jumping down the stairs I stalk to the truck "I'm going home now, are you coming?"

She gets to her feet and into the passenger's seat of the truck without speaking. The drive home is completely silent while I try and work out what's going on within her brain and she ignores me in favour of looking out the window glaring at everything we pass.

Parking in the drive I don't wait till she's out of the truck, yanking the keys from the ignition as soon as the vehicle has stopped and storming inside. "I'm going to shower." I call into the kitchen ignoring the hello's and questions of how the unpacking went.

The door swings open at the same time I open the bathroom door and Cam snorts "Just let it go."

I shake my head and glare at her "No I won't! You're being a bitch."

Cam's eyes narrow and she walks down the hall towards me "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me." I stand up straighter and look at her "You're being a bitch. Would you like me to speak slower so you can hear it, or maybe I should speak louder so you can hear it in LA."

Cam doesn't say anything, spinning on her heel "I'm going to call a cab. I don't feel like being here with you like this."

"Like what?" I stalk after her "Honest?"

Cam spins on her heel and I vaguely see her hands clenched into fists at her sides "No. Something has crawled up your ass and you're taking it out on me and it's not fair."

I shake my head, my hair swinging behind me, the tip of my plait hitting the walls "I'm not taking anything out on you. I'm trying to work out why you're so scared of staying…" My voice trails off and I look at her through slightly narrowed eyes. "That's it isn't it. You're scared?"

Cam lifts one eyebrow "Scared of what?"

"Scared of what could be, scared of small town life, scared of staying here. Take your pick chicky, there's something that's making you want to run away as fast as you can with your tail between your legs." By now our raised voices have gathered an audience, Gemma and Donna are standing in one doorway while Al is in the other, her arms blocking Jax and Happy from coming through to where we're standing.

Cam snorts at me "Why the fuck would I be scared of any of that? I remember what you were like when you came to New York, you were a shell and I remember thinking that whatever it was you'd left behind must be pretty fucken impressive. I guess to you it is, but it's exactly what you said, it's slow, it's boring."

The laugh I spit out at her makes my throat hurt a little and I turn around again "If you say so. I'll swallow that bullshit if it makes you feel better about running away."

Cam's hand flashes up and lands on my shoulder, reacting completely out of instinct I throw my elbow backwards, the point connecting with her nose screaming "Don't fucken touch me!"

"Ow. What the fuck!" She splutters her hand under her nose which is running red.

"Fuck! Cam I'm sorry." I reach out to help her but she shakes her head and takes a step backwards.

Happy appears at her side a split second before Jax is at mine, resting his hands on my shoulders he looks down at me with a question in his eyes "What was that?"

I sniff, tears forming in my eyes, breaking out of his grip I spin around and dash into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind me with a sob. Jax knocks lightly on the door "Babe, you okay?"

"I'm fine. Check Cam." I say loud enough to be heard through the door, trailing off to a whisper "I'll stay in here tonight. Please just leave me alone."

I can hear Jax sigh through the door "I'm not leaving you alone, but I am going to tell them why you're so jumpy."

"NO!" I spit, unlocking the door and swinging it open "Don't tell anyone! You promised."

Jax runs his hand over his face, looking at me "I promised when I thought you'd be able to contain your shit. That just proves that you can't. They need to know. Cam at least."

I sigh, my shoulders heaving "Send her in here, if she'll still talk to me, let alone be in the same room."

Jax vanishes from sight, returning a couple of seconds later with Cam, Al, Hap and Donna behind him. Rolling my eyes at him "I said Cam, not everyone."

Jax shrugs "They didn't ask and I didn't argue now are you telling them or am I?"

Inhaling a massive breath I look each of them in the eye, Cam's nose still bleeding into the tea towel she has under it "What's the date today?"

"July 15th." Donna answers without hesitating.

I nod and meet Cam and Al's eyes again, watching as understanding dawns in Al's eyes. Cam's still looking at me blankly "What does the date have to do with you socking me?"

Al leans over her shoulder saying quietly "Why didn't you tell us?"

I shrug "I thought I'd be okay. I thought I'd be able to handle it. Move on like it never happened."

"Shit." Cam mutters quietly "You should have told us, instead of picking a fight with me." Turning around she swallows thickly "It's a year since…"

"Craig abducted me." I fill in where she stops mid-sentence. "Cam I really am sorry."

Cam shrugs, pushing past everyone in the hall and into the bathroom. Peering at her reflection she shrugs "I'll have a heck of a black eye tomorrow I'm sure but I'll live."

I nod "Yeah, you'll live for me to finish that conversation."

Jax narrows his eyes slightly watching us "You okay now?"

I shake my head slightly "No. But I will be. Cam's going to stay in here cause I need to talk to her, you guys go back to whatever it was you were doing."

Happy looks over at Cam and lifts his eyebrow "You okay?"

Cam nods, pushing the door closed "Yeah I'm fine. Worst she can do in here is try and brush my teeth with a toilet brush. If we're not out in half an hour send in a couple of body bags."


	24. Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Cam carefully washes her face; the streaks of blood making the water run red. Once her mouth and cheeks are clean she lifts herself onto the edge of the basin and turns her eyes towards me "You nailed it, completely. I'm scared."

"Why?" I close the lid of the toilet and sit down on it, looking up at her "What's so scary?"

"This." Cam waves her hand around the room and I laugh.

"My bathroom is scary?"

Rolling her eyes slightly she shakes her head "No. Charming scares me. Happy scares me. The future scares me. Your bathroom, it just worries me."

"Why does my bathroom worry you? I'll get to everything else in a second." I say, standing up and pulling two towels out of the cupboard, leaving one in there for Jax.

"How many times have you guys fucked in here?" Cam asks with a giggle.

Lifting my hand I pretend to count, tossing my hands in the air after going through both hands twice "No idea."

"That's why I'm worried about your bathroom."

Turning the shower on I strip, dropping my clothes into a pile and stepping into the shower "So tell me," I start over the sound of the water "Why does Charming scare you?"

Cam shrugs, a movement I see out of the corner of my eye "Like you said, it's so slow here. I'm used to New York where everything goes a mile a minute and it's either full speed or dead. Around here full speed is the same as a snail. What if I get bored? What if I have a craving for Starbucks in the middle of the night? The nearest one is at least an hour away."

Giggling at her I look over my shoulder "Starbucks? Really?" Shaking my head I think for a second before opening my mouth again. "Honestly Cammy, I don't know. If you get bored I guess we find things for you to do. Maybe this could be your chance to get into interior design. I know you wanted to. You've got heaps of big enough cities around. Sacramento, San Francisco, and Reno are all less than 3 hours from here. LA is only 5 hours. Las Vegas is 8 and you've got plenty of places in between where I'm sure you could find work." Cam hums a little. "Why does Happy scare you?"

"He's so intense. He gets this look in his eyes that could vaporise a human with one glance. Sometimes I feel like he's reaching into my brain and picking my secrets from the depths preparing to use them against me at a future date." Looking over at her through the steamy glass I can see her picking at the hem of her shirt.

"So the fact that you've fallen in love with him is hard for you to deal with his intensity?" I ask, watching her reactions carefully. Her hands instantly stop moving, her breath hitches a little and I have all the answer I need before she opens her mouth.

"Am I that obvious?" She asks me for the second time that day.

"To me, yes. To Al, probably. To anyone else, no." She relaxes and starts picking again "Has he said anything to you about his past?"

Cam shakes her head frowning a little. I sigh, rinsing the shampoo from my hair carefully "I will tell him I told you this, so don't be surprised if he gets really fucked off with me later. Hap was married once."

Cam's eyes widen and she looks up at me "What?"

I nod "You know how old he is right?" Cam nods "Good, it was the year I moved here, so I was 12. He was 23 I think, 24 at most, this chick turned his world upside down and not in a good way. She made him question everything he ever did, every move he made, every Club related situation he was put in but he let her, he loved her so intensely, so completely, that his entire focus shifted to her. She was killed because of who he is."

Cam gasps, her hand flying to her chest "What?"

Pouring body wash onto my sponge I look over at her as I set the bottle down "You're not dumb, you yourself put together most of the stuff you know. A group of unpleasant people heard she was in Lodi; she'd been stupid enough to not listen to Hap about going with a patch and went by herself. She was murdered driving back to Charming. Shot, in the back of the head in a drive by."

Speaking to her quietly while I run the bubbles over my body "I remember vividly the days after her death, Happy had been out for blood, he didn't care whose it was and who paid the price he was determined he was going to find out who it was that had killed his wife and make them pay. Unfortunately for him, or maybe it was fortunately for us, a whole lot of shit happened in a very short period of time and he had to bury his grief, his sadness, his sorrow for what happened to her. By the time everything settled back down he'd moved on. Put her in his past and sworn he would never let pussy get that close again."

Cam sighs "So I should prepare for heartbreak?"

I shake my head, rinsing the sponge and replacing it on the shelf "No. On the contrary. I think you need to be prepared that when Hap realises he's fallen in love again he's going to do everything in his power to push you away. He'll lie, he'll drink more than usual, he'll smoke more than usual, he may sleep around, or try to, he'll vanish for days."

"So what do I do?" Cam looks at me, her eyes pleading for me to have the knowledge to make it stop. "How do I go to LA for this job without this all turning to shit? I have to cancel the job."

I shake my head, rinsing the bubbles "No. That's not what you do. You need to show Hap that you're made of tougher things than that. You go to LA, do this job for 6 months. Come back here at least once a month, ask Hap to come down once a month. Remind him every time you talk to him that you're coming back here for good. Go see his Mom as much as you can before she moves here. Insert yourself into facets of his life that he can't be without. You've already done that before meeting him with me."

Cam frowns as I push the shower door open "What do you mean; with you?"

I smile brightly, wrapping a towel around myself "Easy. You're one of my best friends and Hap is the Big Brother slash Uncle that's values my opinion more too then he will _ever_ admit."

Cam lifts an eyebrow "Huh?"

"I liked his wife, she was a good person. She just wasn't the right person. She was too..." I trail off, searching for the right word. "Gentle? No. Calm? No definitely not. Soft. That's it. She was too soft to survive being an Old Lady. Now, before you get offended I'm not saying your hard but you grew up in New York; your father is an extremely powerful business man. You learnt at a young age to see through bullshit and lies. That's what Hap needs. He needs someone who's not going to fold the first time pressure gets put on them. He needs someone with a backbone of steel who can stand up and say 'Yes my Old Man is a member of the Mother Charter of the Sons of Anarchy.' Regardless of who they are saying it to. But he also needs someone who will let him be him. He needs control; he needs someone who won't argue when he demands something. Staying put, leaving, doing something for him."

Cam swallows tightly "And he needs someone who can wash the blood off his hands."

I nod, hugging her softly "Yeah that too. Cammy, I won't lie; bloodshed is something we're used to. I wouldn't have told you anything I just did if I didn't trust you and believe that you belong here. I love you, I love Hap too. There's a lot of blood on his hands, but there are scars on his heart and soul that are more important to be healed." Pulling backwards I smile at her slowly "If you can help him heal those scars on his heart I'm sure you'll realise exactly what I mean when I say that Hap is one of the greatest men I know."

Cam laughs, jumping off the bench "And what about the future? I'm terrified of what's going to happen."

Pulling open the door I call out that we're fine and wave Cam to follow me into the bedroom "Immediate future, short or long term?"

"All of them." Cam sits on the edge of the bed and starts picking at her shirt again.

Throwing my clothes onto the bed I walk around to the other side and start drying myself, Cam's back tense in my view "Immediate future, well I look at that as being this week. Tonight we have this party that Gemma has organised which is bound to be full of patches, both local and out of town, perhaps even state I'm not sure. You glue yourself to Hap's side; make sure everyone knows you're here with him. If he's not around you're with me, or Al. You're going home Sunday so until then you just do what you have been doing. Come here if you need to get out of the lot. Ring if you need a ride, I'm still down to no cars. When are you back?"

"August 20th. We'll fly back to New York on the 22nd."

I frown and lean over, slapping her on the back lightly "You are coming back for the reception aren't you?"

"Shit, umm. When is that?"

"30th. It's the last Saturday of the month. 2 weeks tomorrow." I finish getting dressed while she taps her fingers on her leg. "I want you there Cammy, please say you can come?"

Cam nods "Yeah I can, I just have to fly commercial. I'll book flights now if I can use your laptop, and I can only stay the weekend. I've got so much to sort with moving."

I snicker "Tell me about it. We can help when we come over next month though. Stay there, I'll go get the computer and we can get these flights booked now."

Cam nods, staying where she is while I dart out of the room and into the kitchen, pulling my laptop bag out of the box I'd set it in to move "Back soon. We're fine. Hap, need to talk to you later." I dash back into the bedroom, closing the door before anyone can ask anything.

It only takes Cam 10 minutes to find, book and pay for flights to come back, arriving at 6pm Friday, departing 10am Sunday it's nowhere near long enough for me but I squeeze her tightly for agreeing to come back.

Cam closes the laptop and stands up, finally getting a look at what I was wearing, bursting out laughing "Jax didn't see you did he?"

I shake my head giggling "Nope." Shoving my feet into my shoes I stand up straight "Do I pass inspection for 'Mommy'?"

"I think if all Mommies looked like you there would be a serious market for MILF porn." Cam splutters out through her laughter.

Poking my tongue out at her I look down again, the mid-thigh length black dress with a sheer panel in the front clings to every curve of my body, the long sleeves covering both arms, but the phoenix on my leg is almost totally visible, the crow's head and shoulders above the lacy insert and the property of tattoo in full view. Adding a bit of colour is the red peep toe stilettos I'd pulled onto my feet "Could have been worse. All my corsets are at the new house."

Cam sighs, nodding "I know. I'm the one that had to go through the dozens of them and hang them up, remember?"

I nod and hug her again "I know, and thank you Cammy. Could have been worse, I could have given you the job of organising my shoes."

Cam pulls the door open and shakes her head "No way. You're more anal retentive about them then you are about your cook books."

Pausing in the doorway I grab her hand "Are we okay?"

Cam nods, hugging me "Yeah, we're good. But elbow me again and I'll break your fingers." Cam laughs at the shocked look on my face pulling me towards the kitchen "S, I'm kidding. Have a drink, relax."

Lightly elbowing her in the side we step through the door into the kitchen, the room still full of people but a few patches have appeared "Now I know we weren't gone for hours. What's going on?"


	25. Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. (Still not trying to write Chibs as he speaks...I can't do it!)

Jax and Happy share a long look "I rang Chibs to come check Cam's nose to make sure you didn't break it." Hap tells me with a nod at Chibs so steps over and looks at Cam's face under the light.

"It's all good. You're gonna have one heck of a shiner but it ain't broken." Chibs says pressing lightly on either side of her nose.

Cam glares over his shoulder at Jax and Happy "I could have told you it wasn't broken. Did anyone ask me?" Shaking her head she brushes past everyone and pulls a beer from the sink of ice. "S, you want a drink?"

"Not right now. I'll talk to Hap then I will." Cam giggles, popping the top of the bottle and walking outside.

Happy lifts his eyebrow and gestures towards the backdoor "What's up Cupcake?"

Sitting down on one of the chairs in the garden I gesture towards the other one "Cam and I had a talk and I need to fill you in."

Happy sits down and looks at me "What?"

"I told Cam about Adriana." I look at him as his face twitches through several emotions before it completely blanks.

"You did what?" Hap's eyes are dark pools that would scare me if I didn't know him as well as I do.

"I told Cam about Adriana." I repeat. "She needed to know Hap." Leaning forward so my elbows are on my knees I reach across the gap, grabbing his hand. Happy tries to pull his hand out of my grip but I tighten my fingers. "Don't do that. You need to listen to what I'm gonna say." Happy relaxes minutely, his eyes glued to mine.

Passing him the beer I'd snagged as we walked through the laundry I wait as he pops it open and drinks a couple of mouthfuls "I told Cam that you were married. I didn't tell her how long for. She does know it was 10 years ago. She knows that Adriana was murdered in a shooting on her way back from Lodi, I left all other details out, those are for you to fill in."

Happy shakes his head at me "I'm not telling her shit about that."

I twitch my head to the side "If that's how you feel that's fine." Taking a deep breath I bite my lip ring briefly before swallowing my sudden bought of nerves "You can be pissed at me all you want but she did deserve to know. She also told me she offered to help with your Mom's medications, and that someone finally managed to talk sense into that woman and get her to agree to move here. If you want I'll talk to Mandy Monday about finding a place?"

Hap nods, his eyes pulling back to mine "Why do you think she needed to know about Adriana?"

"She needs to know about you if she's going to get involved with you." It's almost funny the way his eyes widen, his mouth opening to start protesting "Don't argue with me, she spouted a whole load of bullshit about you guys not being a 'thing' I am not going to believe it any more coming from you than I did when it came from her. You can fool yourselves as much as you like."

Waiting while his frown settles down I smile at him slightly "Do you want to know why I know there's some_thing_ going on?" Hap lifts one shoulder and I lean back into the chair. "You took her to meet your Mom. You let her mark your skin. You've had her in your bed more than twice, something which hasn't happened since your wife. You keep looking to make sure she's okay. Your feet are aimed towards her in case she needs something in a hurry, or if my dog does something you're not sure of." I poke my tongue out at him when he relaxes into the seat, lifting his ankle onto his knee.

He taps his knuckles on his beer bottle and almost glares at me "Whatever you think you've worked out cupcake, you're wrong. There is nothing goin' on with me and Cam."

I lift my eyebrows, pushing him as far as I am willing to with my final sentence "If you say so Hap. I'll let you and her fuck each-others brains out and when you catch up with what I already know I'll just sit back and say I told you so."

Happy stands up and leans over my chair, his hands landing on the armrests beside me. "There is _nothing_ going on."

I barely manage a surprised squeak before Cam is at my side, stepping between us, her hand on his chest pushing him backwards "Are you trying to scare the fuck outta her? Are you the only one who didn't hear that shit before? Fuck sakes Hap, go inside and calm the fuck down."

Spinning on her heel she crouches down in front of me "You okay S?"

I nod, my eyes still fixed on Happy, the expression on his face looks like a combination of shock, anger, disbelief and the need to cause pain. Lifting my eyebrow at him he shakes his head and turns around "Cupcake, you and I are not done."

Rolling my eyes I nod, looking down at Cam I grab her hand "I'm okay. Can you go make me a coffee please?"

Cam stands up slowly, her gaze darting between Happy and myself until I nod "Really, I'm fine. He didn't mean to scare me, and he knows not to do it again."

Cam growls as she turns around and starts towards the door "Damn straight, he upsets you again and he'll have to deal with a very fucked off me. Then I'll tell Jax and let him have what's left." Stopping just the other side of him her back is tense when she whispers not quiet softly enough "Be gentle with her. She says she's fine but she's lying."

Biting down on one of my lip rings I wait until Cam's stepping into the backdoor and Happy sits back down. "I am okay."

Happy shakes his head "And you think I'm full of shit. If you're fine then I'm a 90 year old woman."

Laughing at him I cock my head to the side "You know, I can picture you in a floral ankle length dress. She knows by the way."

Happy lifts his head and looks at me again "Knows what?"

"About Craig. About the club. The guns. You name it and I think she either knows or is almost certain."

"How?" Happy gets to his feet and starts pacing in front of me. Donna sticks her head out the door calling out for the kids and asking if we're okay. At my nod she retreats back into the kitchen, the twins running across the yard, Doj on their heels.

"The same way I learnt what I know. She shut up, listened and put all the pieces together. She doesn't know details about any of it cause I'm not stupid, and I don't have a death wish, but she knows Craig is no longer breathing."

Happy chuckles, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up and I look up at him "Remind me never to fuck you off."

Happy sits back down "Too late. You shouldn't have told her about Adriana."

I sigh deeply "Hap, she had a right to know and that's all I'm going to say. Anything else is for you to sort out between yourselves. But the real reason I wanted to talk to you. I want you to come to New York with us next month."

"Why? You'll have Jax, Ope and Juice." Happy really does sound confused and I consider which parts of my reasons to give him.

"Yes I will have them there. But I would feel better if you were there to. Jax doesn't know what it actually will be like."

Happy frowns "I'll talk to Clay about it. But you have to do three things for me."

I nod slowly "Okay."

"First, give up on me and Cam. There's nothing there other than two consenting adults enjoying themselves." I nod, completely disagreeing with his words but letting it go, for now. "Tell Jax what it's going to be like so he's prepared for whatever it is that you think will happen." I nod again; I'd planned on that anyway. "And the last thing that you have to do is make me some more of those coffee cupcakes, they were good." Happy grins at me and I feel slightly better that while he's still irritated he no longer looks like he wants to bury me.

Nodding at him I get up and hug him quickly "Of course I'll do some baking for you. It'll probably be the last lot I'll have a chance to do with the reception, trial, move, Sturgis, picking up my new car and seeing the social worker."

"What social worker?" Happy's voice is low when he asks.

"Ahh fuck, I wasn't going to tell anyone, Jax and I were trying to keep it a secret. We have a social worker coming towards the end of the month for an at home visit before they grant my adoption of Abel."

Happy smiles at me "And you don't want anyone to know?" I nod and he nods once "Consider it forgotten."

"What's forgotten?" I say with a giggle.

"Exactly. Now, go make sure Cam hasn't told your Old Man to kill me, I kinda like breathing."


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. The inspiration for Doj's carrot stealing came from my own dog Kaos. He goes through 1.5kgs (about 3 pounds) of carrots a fortnight. He also once distributed 5 kgs (about 10 pounds) of potatoes in various places around our backyard.

The only adult in the kitchen when I come back into the house is Gemma. The twins are sitting at the table, colouring in books in front of them and crayons piled in the middle. Abel's lying in his bouncer on the table and Doj is under the table with what appears to be the remains of a carrot between his paws.

Looking over and Gemma I frown a little. "Where'd Doj get the carrot?"

"So that's where it went?" Gemma says with a laugh after glancing over. "He stole it off the bench."

I crouch down and look under the table at him, shaking my head "Are you starving?"

Doj crunches through the end bit, his tail wagging happily.

"That's okay Gem, it's not that strange for him to steal carrots, he prefers them to bones most of the time if you'd believe it. Where'd everyone go?" I ask, getting back up.

"Donna and Ope went to get some more beer and one of the grills from TM. Ope decided that there wasn't enough here. They took Al and Cam with them to shower and get changed. Hap was outside with you and Jax is in the living room looking at some catalogue of TV related stuff that Ope left. If you're done with Happy though could you ask him if he'd go pick up the cake for me? It's at home."

I lift my eyebrows and wait; sure enough she turns around after almost a minute of silence from me "What?" She asks setting down the spoon she'd been using to stir the giant pot of chilli Bobby had made.

"You want me to send _Happy_ to get a cake. The one member of the club that will eat cupcakes till they are coming out his ears then asks for more? You expect it to come back in one piece?" I shake my head slightly, filling a coffee cup "You're better off asking Doj to go pick it up."

Gemma chuckles "Good point. Will you stir this then, I'll take Jax and do it."

Taking the spoon out of her hand I laugh again, shaking my head "Gem, are you trying to heat this up?"

Gemma nods "Yeah, it's taking forever."

I'm still laughing when I pick up the pot and move it across one element "You had the wrong element on. But why is it on now. It's only 6; no one is due till 8."

"Yeah but it can sit and keep warm, the longer it sits the better it gets. Bobby made cornbread; Donna's bringing that back as well. All the meat is already in your fridge and I cheated and brought bagged salads but got the girls to add some stuff to them. They're all made and in the fridge as well. All that we're waiting for is everyone to arrive and someone to cook." I nod as Gemma reaches past me turning the element off "We may as well leave that, as long as you remember to put it on at about 730 it'll be well and truly hot enough to eat at 830."

I nod again, letting her push me towards the living room, picking up my coffee cup as I go past. Sitting down on the armchair Jax looks up "Hey babe. Hey Ma. What's up?"

Gemma picks her keys up off the table by the door "You and I have to go pick up the cake. It's at home. Someone tried to send Happy."

I spit out something that's a cross between a snort and a laugh, shaking my head as Jax gets up, tossing the book at me "I folded a few corners over, see what you think?"

I pick up the magazine and flick it open "Sure but it's your choice."

The sound of car doors out the front heralds someone's arrival, Ope coming through the door a few minutes later, his arms loaded up with boxes of beer. Donna's behind him shaking her head and carrying a single box, the different caps poking out the top evident that it contains spirits "I think if they go through all of that, and what's still left in the car then everyone will be comaed on her back lawn baby."

Jax and Gemma slide out the open door as Opie carries the beer through to the laundry, dropping it in the empty space for a washing machine. "I'm sure everyone agrees with me in rather too much then not enough Don. Now be quiet."

Donna snaps her mouth shut, glaring up at her husband "Fine. But don't ask me to make you breakfast in bed tomorrow when you feel like shit."

"We make beak-fast Daddy." Kenny pipes up from the table, Donna's mouth falling open as she looks over her shoulders at her kids.

"If Daddy is hung over what do we do?"

Ellie giggles "We make lots of noise and laugh at him."

Donna nods happily "Neeta's coming over after dinner to take you two to Grandmas, there's movies there for you."

The pair of them bounce happily in their seats, Kenny looking up at his mother "Did she remember Cars?"

"Of course." Donna says with a chuckle.

The huge sigh that rips from Ellie's mouth makes me laugh from the lounge but Donna's next words make it even funnier "She also got Barbie and the Swan Princess. You can decide later who's watching their movie first. But right now we're going to hijack Uncle Jax's bathroom and clean you both. You look like you've been rolling in dirt."

I giggle, leaning forward slightly "If they've been playing with Doj it's very possible that they have been."

Donna aims a glare at me as she walks down the short hall towards the bathroom "I take back what I said before then about your well behaved dog."

I shrug, flicking to the first page that Jax had dog-eared for me, the first thing I see is a cabinet to hold a hidden TV. The scribble beside it tells me he already wants it, he's circled the wood that's the closest to the bed that we picked. Flicking through the pages it doesn't take me more than three to realise he's picked the biggest TV he can find to go into the games room, the cabinet for the living room will hold a TV only to a certain size and that's noted beside a couple of them, both flat screen monsters.

Dropping the book back down I give up trying to make any sense of it at all, while I know that the house is wired for sounds and cable that's as far as I went with it. Having 2 businesses to get off the ground won't leave me much time for TV, not that I ever watched a lot of it anyway.

Hearing a whole lot of splashing and giggles from the bathroom I slowly get up and walk down there, tentatively poking my head through the door I groan "D, you are cleaning that up!" There's water almost from one side of the bathroom to the other, two small naked and wet children bouncing around the room while the shower runs.

Donna looks up and shrugs "Can you please go get their father. I need another set of hands."

Backing out of the room I almost walk into Opie's chest a few steps away "Your wife needs help with your kids."

Opie chuckles, throwing the door open "What's up monsters?"


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Not sure when I'll update again, spent hours at the ER last night with chest pain, turns out it's gall stones but more doc apps today.

The first people back for dinner are Al and Cam; unsurprisingly both of them arrive on the back of bikes. Cam shakes her head and waves a finger at me as I take the helmets and drop them all on the bed "Not a word. And he told me you want him to go with us for the trial. Why?"

Pushing the door closed I sit on the edge of the bed "Cause I'm terrified Cammy. Completely thought freezing, blood dehydrating, palms sweating, hyperventilation imminently terrified of what's going to happen. I know it still seems strange but these guys, all of them, calm me down with just their presence."

Cam sits down beside me "I know they do S, I think if you had your way you'd take the whole charter?"

I shake my head "No, they still have jobs to do here. I haven't even talked to Clay about it yet, I don't know if he'll give the ok. I know that Jax and Ope already have told him they're coming regardless. I'm not sure about Juice, and I don't know if Hap can."

Cam slides her arm around my shoulders "You asked him. He'll be there. You know that Clay, your _Uncle Clay_ won't say no to you. And if he did then Gemma would have something to say."

I giggle, nodding against her shoulder "I know. But Jax knows what we're going to face, I just don't know if he realises how scared I am of it all."

"Why are you scared?" Cam asks rubbing my shoulder softly.

"There are too many things to list." I shake my head, "I guess the main ones would be the media circus, the lies that are bound to come out, the knowledge that I won't be able to walk more than 5 feet without someone shoving a microphone or a camera in my face."

Cam bites her and looks over at me, before she even opens her mouth I can see the guilt spreading across her features. I lift my eyebrow and she holds up her hands in surrender.

"I have a confession, or three, to make."

"What?"

Cam swallows, pulling far enough back so she can look at me "Daddy and I talked about the media shit storm. He's arranged security for you when you're going to the courthouse. He knows that the likelihood is that Jax won't leave your side at all so he's worked that in. We're also not staying at the house."

"Huh?" I frown at her, my brain trying to work out what she means, the words aren't foreign but the concept is.

"We're not staying at the house; well not while the trial is going on anyway. Daddy talked to Charlotte and she thinks it'll only be 2 days, 3 at most so we're staying in town." Cam spends a second looking at me "I know what you're thinking right now."

I snort "Really, cause help me out then cause I don't know what I'm thinking."

Cam giggles and grabs my hand "I have known since you were told that this bullshit would have to go to court that you're panicking about it. Coming back home helped a little, but I still know that you're stressed. Daddy does too. I may have told him." My eyes narrow at her but she shrugs in a completely unapologetic way "It was his idea to stay in town, that way you don't have the huge drive in and out each day to stress even more. It's up to you if you want to walk each day or use a car but Daddy has arranged a room for Joe as well so he'll be your driver while we're there."

"Where are we staying?" I'm not sure at this stage if I should be upset or not, but knowing Cam and Derek have organised this for me does calm me down.

"At the Mulberry. It's like 5 minute's walk from the courthouse. We've got 2 double rooms, a single room and a suite. Daddy and Trish are staying there in the suite obviously. The single room is for Joe and the two doubles are for the rest of us."

"The rest of us?"

Cam nods "Yep, you and Jax, Donna and Opie in one room. Al and Juice can share with me."

"And Happy." I reply with a laugh, ducking out the door before she can say anything.

Cam follows me through to the kitchen "Yeah, and him _if_ you ask your Uncle."

Gemma looks up from the French stick she was slicing "What do you need to ask Jacob about?"

I shake my head, laughing "Not that uncle. I need to ask Clay something. He around?"

Gemma shakes her head "He's still on his way. Start taking salads out. Ope and Jax are setting the grill up in the yard. It only barely fitted through the gate."

Saluting I open the fridge, setting the four huge bowls of salad on the table, pulling the bags of meat out I drop them in the sink to let them come back to room temperature. Al and Donna come through the back door heading straight for us. The four of us take the bowls out and then return to the kitchen.

The next 35 minutes are further proof of why Gemma gets compared to a Drill Sargent when it comes to party planning, none of us get more than a second of peace but at the end of the time the food is all set out, the meat is set up by the grill, the chairs are all around the tables and the tables are laid with cutlery and glasses, the plates piled on one end of the buffet table. Bobby's chilli is bubbling lightly, the smell of onions, garlic and spices permeating the air.

The rumble of bikes arriving makes Gemma stand up a little straighter and peer out the back door again "I guess we're as ready as we're gonna get."

I narrow my eyes at her and slip my arm around her waist "Why are you so worried Gem?"

Gemma looks down at me, blinking rapidly "I have to talk to you later about something. But it can wait."

I shake my head "Nope. Before I start stressing what's up?"

Clay steps through the front door, Gemma's eyes lifting to his face. "I guess now is as good a time as any. Donna, would you please get my son and your husband started on the cooking. Clay and I need to talk to Sarah."

I swallow heavily and follow the pair of them down the hall, wondering what has happened now.

Pushing the door of the spare room closed behind us Gemma turns around and laughs "Stop looking like you're going to your death. It's nothing major."

Clay looks between us, leaning against the wall "What?"

I glance at Gemma "Seeing your both here I'll ask Clay what I need first if that's okay?" Gemma nods and I manage a half-smile "I want to steal another Son for the trial."

Clay frowns "Who and why?"

"Happy cause I would feel safer with him there." Stepping up beside him I rest my hand on his elbow "It's going to be a circus Uncle Clay. I don't know how much of one but if the bail hearing is anything to go by then it really is going to be insanity."

Clay looks over at me, his eyes icy hard "Are you sure you don't want me and Gem to come too?"

I nod "Yeah, you guys are needed here. Juice and Ope don't have to be there but I'd really like it if Jax could come."

Clay chuckles, resting his huge hand over mine and picking it up, squeezing my fingers lightly "If you want them all they'll be there, I will send every Son from all the Charters if you need it."

Swallowing tightly against the tears that suddenly spring into my eyes I shake my head "No, just Hap and Jax."

Gemma snorts "And Ope and Juice."

Clay nods "We're not sending three Old Ladies out of state with only 2 Sons."

I hug him tightly, my arms wrapped around his neck squeezing till he pats my back. "Now that I've agreed to that I have a bit of a bombshell to drop on you."

"Fuck." I whisper pulling backwards so I can look at his face, reading the slight tension around his eyes "What?"

"We have to move the reception baby." Gemma says, moving to the other side of me and picking up my other hand.

"Why? What's wrong with Elliot's place?" My eyes are darting between the two of them until Gemma lifts her hands and holds my face in place.

"There is nothing wrong with Oswald's farm. It's a logistics thing though." She says, her eyes flicking to Clay over my shoulder "You're the one that needs to tell her."

"Okay Gem. I'll tell her, you go check your party. We'll be out soon."

Gemma leaves the room, the door clicking firmly closed behind her.

"So the reception I didn't really want being moved from Elliot's. Where is it going? And why?" I arch my eyebrow and wait, the answer coming in a split explanation, the first part making no sense till the second bit of information is dropped on me.

"It's being moved to the Wahewa reserve, they have their own law enforcement, Charming PD has no jurisdiction." Clay pats my hand lightly watching the confusion in my eyes for a second, a smile twitching his mouth "The kings are coming."

"What?!" My mouth drops open and I know my eyes look like dinner plates.

"They found out about Jax getting married and the reception, well when they found out it was my niece he married they decided that 2 of them will be coming over." Clay walks over and opens the door "Nothing else is changing other than the location, oh, and your mother-in-law wants you to re-do your vows."

Follow him out into the hall "Wanna repeat that last bit please?" I call to his retreating back.

He shakes his head "Nah pumpkin. You need to ask Gem about that."

Clay disappears out the back door before I can ask him anything else. Following him through the now empty kitchen I make my way towards Gemma and crouch beside her "Why did your husband just tell me you want your son and I do re-do our vows?"

Gemma glares at Clay, her eyes softening when she looks back at me "I missed it baby."

I sigh, leaning my head against her arm "Okay."

"What?" Gemma almost whispers "You'll let me organise it?"

I nod, my forehead not leaving the material of her jacket "Yes, I'll convince Jax of it but I have three conditions."

"Anything."

Pulling my head back I look up at her, the huge smile on her face makes me snicker "First condition, I get to decide what I'm wearing."

Gemma nods "Of course, you can pick what your girls wear too."

"My girls?" I frown, looking down at my chest "They'll be wearing what I wear."

Gemma laughs at me, her eyes sparkling "I meant Donna, Al, Cam, Lyla and Cherry. You know, your girls. The ones you've taken under your wing to teach them everything they need to know about this Life." I snort and Gemma shakes her head "Don't do that. You teaching them what they need to know is a good thing. God knows I don't have the patients to train a whole lot of new Old Ladies. Now what are your other conditions?"

"I know you're going to do a gift idea list. Talk to 'my girls' about what I want. Cash is always acceptable, but not really needed." Gemma chuckles nodding "And my last condition is that I get to pick what you wear."

Gemma frowns at that one, humming for a minute "Only because I know you won't dress me in some granny outfit I'll let you."

Hugging her again I stand up "Of course I won't Grandma."

Gemma swats at me as I dart around the table to the grill which was set up right by the backdoor. Kissing Jax lightly on the cheek I quietly whisper the change in location, slightly surprised when he nods "I know. Clay told us, but asked that I leave it for him to tell you Darlin'."

Sighing I lean into his arms "Did he also tell you your mother wants us to re-do our vows?" 

Jax shakes his head looking down at me quickly "What did you say?"

"I told her we would on some conditions, which she agreed to. So looks like we get another wedding."

Jax smirks at me "You know that means another wedding night?"

"I know." I whisper, stretching up and pressing my lips to his.

Jax's laugh echoes through the garden, picking me up and swinging me in a circle before setting me back on my feet with a grin "We'll be ready to eat in 10 minutes."


	28. Chapter 28

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

AN: I'm back after a second visit to the ER and a week in hospital. Turned out it wasn't just gall bladder, I also had pancreatitus on top of that. It was not pleasant at all. Back to the hospital in 2 weeks to have GB removed (as they can't do it till after the inflammation has completely settled.

Also, sorry this is quiet short.

4 hours later Abel is tucked in bed, the clock is ticking just past midnight, there's almost no food left on the table and even the extra beer from the trunk of Donna's car is in the huge buckets chilling. The back yard is full of drunk Sons and their families, a few of the patches from nearby charters had made the trip, and Gemma's quiet muttering of more coming for the wedding had me cringing slightly with where they were all going to stay.

Leaning over Jax's chair at the head of the table I speak quietly into his ear "I'm going to head inside and go to bed baby. Abel will still be up at 6."

Jax nods, grabbing my hand where it was resting on his shoulder and kissing my fingers "I'm pretty sure everyone will be taking off soon."

I laugh, glancing around "Can't see that happening. As long as no one comes into our room unannounced they'll be fine."

Jax lifts his eyebrow and I shrug "Neeta left Doj here, he's sleeping already."

Groaning Jax shakes his head "So you mean there's going to be dog hair on everything?"

Blowing a raspberry at him I kiss his cheek "We have two nights left with that linen, a bit of hair won't kill you, and he's not on the bed. I made him up a blanket bed on the floor."

Leaving him to the conversation he'd been having with Bobby I go inside, waving over my shoulder. Doj's head barely lifts from the ball he's curled in on the floor when I open the door. Turning the monitor on I strip out of my dress and heels, dropping them into the top of the box by the door. Pulling the clean pyjama's I'd brought back from the new house I climb under the blankets and fall asleep quickly, the music and voices from outside not bothering me at all.

I wake up a couple of hours later when Doj starts growling from the door, Jax's voice telling him to be quiet makes me giggle. Sitting up in bed he leaves the door open for light and comes to sit by me "Everyone's gone. House is a disaster but Ma said to tell you all your girls are coming tomorrow to help clean'."

I nod "She means, D, Cam, Al, Lyla and Cherry. You'll be thankful to be going shopping."

Jax shudders "Never thought I would admit it, but yes I am. Ope and Juice are gonna meet here so we can take the chairs back to TM then go. I need my truck though."

Wiggling further under the blankets I look up at him "I don't have anything to do tomorrow, and if I do D can take me."

Walking around the bed again Jax drops his clothes on top of mine "I've got clean stuff for tomorrow aye babe?"

I roll my eyes towards the ceiling "Yes, about 2 inches to the right of your right hand."

Jax looks down and chuckles "Okay, so I missed them."

Listening to him talk I realise that he's obviously hit a liquor bottle after I went to bed, his words are slightly slurred.

Pulling the blankets off his side of the bed I chuckle when he falls onto the bed, his head landing on his pillow. Throwing the blankets back so they cover him up he opens his arms waiting while I slide across the bed, curling into his side. Resting my head on his shoulder he leans down and kisses my forehead.

"Why did you agree with Mom about redoing the wedding vows?" Jax murmurs, his lips moving against my skin.

"Because Clay told me that the Kings are coming, at least 2 of them anyway. And your mother is right."

"About what?"

"This will be your last marriage. I am the last person you will ever call your wife and you are the only person I will ever marry. Your mother did miss it, and that was our choice. We got the wedding day that we wanted, now to make up for that we'll let her plan the one she would have wanted for her son."

"I get that. Why was she muttering about wardrobe selections?"

I laugh, nuzzling into the side of his neck "One of my conditions was that I got to choose what she wore."

Jax laughs sleepily "I bet she loved that."

"Don't know. Don't care. I'll let her organise location, food, guest list, decorations, flowers, cake and music. All I want control of is clothes for all of us and my own hair and makeup."

Jax snores lightly in response. Closing my eyes I breathe in the whiskey, beer and cigarette smell that's coming off his skin, absorbing his warmth into my body till my heavy eyelids close and refuse to open again.


	29. Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

It feels like I've barely blinked at the tail end of July has arrived, waking up on the morning before our mammoth wedding reception turned wedding for SAMCRO I find Jax is already up and gone, the note on the bathroom counter telling me Gemma picked up Abel and Doj at 7 to take them to TM for the day while I made sure all the outfits were planned. The pair had been almost inseparable since the move, Doj having taken to sleeping on the floor outside Abel's room and following whoever was holding him if they left the room. Stretching in the brand new bed in our new bedroom I smile up at the ceiling, Cam's due back that afternoon in preparation for the wedding, only for two nights, coming back again just before the trial. My begging for her to come to Sturgis with us had fallen on stubborn ears when she told me repeatedly that she had interviews to finish for the Paramount crew she was putting together.

Walking slowly down the stairs I look around, everything is in its place in the new house, a huge cylinder leaning inside the front door makes me smile, the 2nd note from Jax attached to it with a simple question mark. Ripping the packing slip off it I find it's the rugs I brought, the Harley one destined for Abel's room, the green one for the twins room for when they visit, 2 black and white ones for the living room and a couple for the upstairs bedrooms in pale creamy colours. Leaving them downstairs for Jax to help put out later I fix a cup of coffee while I wait for everyone to arrive for our last minute shopping, the dressed I'd ordered as bridesmaids dresses had arrived and been the wrong ones, with no time to get the right ones shipped I'd asked everyone to be at the house at 9 to go pick 5 'bridesmaids' dresses.

The only dress of the 6 that I had ordered that had been right was the one for Gemma, the black dress decorated with lace panels is perfect to show off the jewellery we'd brought for her, my question of if she wanted new shoes was met with a shake of her head when she'd seen the dress. The smile she shot my way holding equal measures of relief and happiness.

The sound of a car pulling up outside reaches my ears seconds before the sound of laughter and my front door opening. "You better have coffee and food in there!" Al calls from just inside the house.

Waiting till she comes into the room I gesture towards the coffee pot on the bench, the line-up of cups beside it and the container behind it holding the bacon and cheese muffins I'd made the day before. Al practically falls on them, half a muffin sticking out of her mouth as she pours coffee into the cups "You nervous yet?"

Shaking my head I toy with the top of my cup "Why would I be. This isn't a big deal; it's an excuse to play dress up more than anything."

Donna snickers, sitting down beside me "I would have thought with the Kings showing up you'd be worrying about something."

I shake my head again "Why. Gemma's done all the organising for this. Anything that falls flat is on her; unless it's me then it's on my shoes."

Lyla sits down beside Donna, Cherry slipping into the last chair seconds before Al can "Did you decide on which dress you were going to wear?"

I nod, smiling at her "I did, I ended up going with the black one, the red one will wait for something else."

Donna grins over at me "You know you could always change part way through the night."

I shake my head "No. That would just be asking for trouble. One dress is fine. But are you guys sure you're all alright with wearing the same dress?"

The four of them exchange glances and Cherry sighs "We're fine with it. It's just that Ly and I wondered why you wanted us so involved."

Smiling softly at her I get up, crossing the kitchen and putting my cup into the dishwasher "Gemma has labelled you all, you know that?"

Donna lifts an eyebrow as I turn around "Do we want to know?"

I laugh "Sure. She's decided that you're all 'my girls' I guess she has this idea that I'm up for training the next lot of Old Ladies and anyone who looks at Kip can see he's head over heels for you Cherry." Cherry colours slightly but doesn't say a word.

Lyla looks up "Okay, but why me?"

"Miles." Gesturing towards Al I say "Juice." Finishing by sharing a long look with Donna "And my big brother Ope. SAMCRO is a family, but it's a family of choice. Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family. I don't speak to my blood relatives, I have no need to. I have the all the uncles and brothers that I could need and each of them wears a patch. The women they choose to spend their lives with, they're my sisters. Apart from Gemma."

Donna giggles "What's Gemma then?"

Sitting back down beside her I lean into her side "Gemma is Gemma. There are no words to describe her."

Donna snickers "Well there is."

Shaking my head at Donna I pick at the muffin I brought back to the table "Without her we wouldn't all be sitting here though."

Donna nods, sliding her arm through mine "I know S. Sitting here while dresses aren't being brought. You know Cam's size aye?"

I nod, laughing as I get up "Of course I do. She's a size smaller than I am, and I know her shoe size too if I need to buy her new shoes."

Everyone else follows me towards the front door where I stop for a minute to alarm the door and relock the house, turning around I laugh "When did that happen?"

Donna giggles "Jax met us down the street to bring it back."

My Nitro is sitting in the middle of the drive, a huge purple bow on the roof and a bunch of purple roses sitting on the bonnet. "Did he say what was wrong with it?"

Donna nods "Yeah, apparently your battery was corroded, the terminals were fried and you had a loose sparkplug lead. He also gave it a full service, put a new set of tyres on it and had it groomed. He made some weird comment about tweaking the sounds in it too?" Donna lifts her eyebrow at my flush "By that look I don't want to know!"

I shake my head, holding out my hand for the keys Donna has hanging off her finger "Are you all going to be okay in one car?"

Al clears her throat, looking towards where her car is also sitting in my drive "We're picking up Cam on the way back, that makes 6 in a 5 seater. We're gonna have to take two cars."

I frown at her "Are you sure we're picking her up? Hap asked me last night what time she lands. I think he was going to."

Al grins "Okay then. I guess we're picking up Cam's bags then." Pulling the bow off the car I put it beside the front door, sticking my face into the roses and inhaling deeply. I unlock the door and go back inside, taking a few minutes to find something that will work as a vase, eventually settling on one of the beer mugs from the games room, putting the roses on the table by the front door I realarm and lock the house again and head back to the car; opening the door and getting into the driver's seat of my car for the first time in ages, spending a few minutes adjusting everything back to normal I wait while Donna claims the front seat and Lyla ends up in the middle of the backseat being told she had the smallest ass for the tiny centre seat.


	30. Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

I thought I better specify, Lyla does not have a son; Piper does not exist in my universe (yet).

To clarify ages are as follows: Piney – 61. Clay – 52. Gemma – 44. Bobby – 41. Chibs – 38. Tig – 35. Happy – 33. Jacob Hale (jnr) – 26. Cherry – 24. Jax, Opie, Cam, Juice – 23. Donna, Al, Sarah, Kip – 22. Miles, David Hale – 21. Lyla – 20. Ellie & Kenny – 4. Abel – 4 months.

The shopping trip doesn't take anywhere as long as I would have thought, I find a short dress in the same colours as mine that all four of the women with me agree on. Taking a photo and sending it to Cam to make sure she likes it as well takes a few minutes, but when she sends back a thumbs up I pull her size from the rack and get the other four to try them on to make sure they look okay.

While they're trying on their dresses I stand outside holding Cam's, looking around the store. The four of them come out of the dressing rooms almost at the same time, the smiles on their faces showing that they're all happy with the choice.

While they change back into their own clothes I ring Jax, the sound of Gemma barking orders in the background telling me that he's at the reservation helping set up "Baby I've picked dresses for the five of them but I have a problem."

Jax sighs "Do I want to know? Actually forget that, do I need to know?"

"Not really, but I know you're on a bit of a 'stop me overspending' trip at the moment and I thought I'd be a good little wifey and ask..."

"If it's to do with this debarkle just do it babe. Ma told me that anything you spend she'll give you back half of." The voices around Jax fade as I hear gravel crunching under his feet "I am so glad we did this for the first time out of state. My mother has had us here since 8am; we'll be here all day."

"Where are Abel and Doj?" I glance down at my watch, surprised that it's already almost 12.

"Abel's here with us, the dog is still at the lot. She arranged for the groomer to come in and give him a bath before tomorrow cause apparently you demanded he be here?" Jax's voice is a combination of confusion and humour.

I laugh "I didn't demand, I asked if he could be there. Apparently that put up the chief's opinion of me cause I wouldn't do this without my pet. Something about animal-human relationships."

Jax laughs "That might explain why he asked why our furry son wasn't here today."

Nodding I roll my eyes at myself when I remember he can't see me "Probably. I've always called him my fur-kid, and he always will be."

Jax sighs deeply, sounding beyond tired "I better go, I'm being called, again."

"Okay babe. See you at home later. Love you."

"Love you too Darlin'." Closing my phone I contemplate for a second that I'm still using the burner that Gemma gave me my first day back in Charming and I've never had any messages arrive about needing to put credit on it.

Looking up I find Donna's already arrived back and ask her about it, shoving the phone back in my bag "I've had this phone for months, who's been paying for it?"

"Your husband of course." She tells me, rolling her eyes "The girls are almost ready then we'll go find shoes and underwear, I do not want to be flashing anyone."

"I want you, Al and Cam to wear the jewellery I brought for you, I'm just wondering if I should get the same for Lyla and Cherry so you all match." That's the reason I'd rung Jax, I'd wanted his approval, even though I don't really need it.

Donna nods "We can see if we can find anything like it if you want."

Hugging her tightly I whisper my thanks into her ear making her laugh. "Once we've found shoes." Donna says "I would have thought you would have already been over there picking a million pairs of heels."

Poking my tongue out at her I shake my head "No, cause I had to wait for you all. And now that everyone is back we shall venture into shoe land."

Al grabs my hand and squeezes it, looking over her shoulder "I've got her so she doesn't disappear. If you see me vanishing grab me so I don't sink!"

I roll my eyes "I'm not that bad...actually forget I said that I am that bad. But I'm not buying any shoes today, not for myself anyway."

Donna lifts a hand, pressing her hand to my forehead "You don't feel hot. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine; I just don't need any more shoes at the moment."

Donna shakes her head looking into my eyes "Are you sure you're okay?"

I laugh, dragging her and Al across to the shoe area of the store "I am sure I'm fine. I did already see the shoes I want you guys to wear if you agree."

Donna looks at the peep toe heels I pick up and frowns "I'll be falling on my ass in them."

Al leans over her shoulder looking at the heel "Nah, it just gives Opie an excuse to be by your side all night, to hold you up."

While the heels aren't high by my standard for my poor friend who almost always lives in sneakers as she runs after her twins they probably look a bit intimidating. "D, they're not really that high, try them on and if you can't walk in them I'll find something else."

Donna sighs, but sits down, swapping the ballet flats she had on for the black heels, standing up she wobbles for a second but the grin on her face shows me that she's doing it on purpose. Poking her in the side she laughs "Okay, so they're not that bad."

The four of them find shoes in their size, walking around the area a few times before it's unanimously decided that they're the right ones. I shake my head again when we end up in the lingerie department with a grin "I don't need any more, Jax still hasn't seen half of what I brought in New York, let alone what I already had."

Al smirks "Oh that boy is in for a shock."

I laugh, shaking my head again "I haven't tried any of it on with him around cause it wouldn't survive!"

5 black lacy underwear sets later we're finished, bar the trip to a jeweller to see if I can find similar jewellery for Lyla and Cherry. Piling everything onto the counter it all gets put into separate bags for each of them. Handing over the seldom used black card to pay for the whole lot I arch my eyebrow when Lyla and Cherry start protesting.

Al shakes her head and Donna sighs "You two are wasting your breath trying to talk her out of it. Just pay for coffee when she's done."

I nod "That sounds like a really good plan. I am running low on caffeine."

Over a cup of coffee it's decided that we'll all meet at TM in the morning, the garage has been closed since Wednesday afternoon and almost the entire work force has been commandeered to help the set up at the reservation for the party. I'd seen some of the orders for food and drink that Gemma had been putting it and it almost looked like she was planning the whole town to be there.

On the way to the airport to meet Cam's plane, and Happy, we stop by a jeweller and while I find bracelets that match perfectly the earrings and necklaces that I buy don't match those that Al, Cam and Donna have. Buying a bracelet for Gemma that goes with the earrings and necklace brought for her as a thank you gift we get back in the car and I mentally pat myself on the back at not having brought anything for myself.

Nearing the airport Al and I both groan when we see the traffic, it takes almost 10 minutes to find a park, I almost growl in frustration as we're walking towards the terminal when Happy calmly backs his bike into a space in front of a tiny car with a wheel clamp on it. With only Al and I that have left the car to greet Cam the three of us head towards the arrivals board, Happy making a sound of disgust when the fact Cam's flight has been delayed registers.

Glancing over at him I shrug "Guess it's lucky we weren't early then. She actually should have landed about 10 minutes ago."

Watching the plane land I lean into Happy's side "Thank you for agreeing to come to New York with us. I know you didn't have to."

Happy looks down, his dark eyes almost swallowing me "Don't fool yourself into thinkin' I'm goin' for anyone but you cupcake. You will be my number one priority above everything else, and if somethin' don't feel right then you know I'm gonna tell Jax."

Nodding silently the normally rough man reaches over and pats my hand lightly, the gesture slightly stiff "Besides, you asked, I wasn't gonna say no."

Looking up at him again I nod "Thank you."

"What for?" Happy lifts an eyebrow, his gaze darting towards the arrivals board where the flight Cam is on has just flicked to 'Arrived: Gate A04'.

"Everything. The shit you dealt with when I was being a snotty little brat, all the midnight rescues when Jax was being an asshole, all the stuff since I came back. All of it. I know I don't say it enough so; thank you."

Happy laughs "As long as you keep makin' me cupcakes we're all good."

Cam's one of the first people off the plane, one of the advantages to flying first class, the roller case she tows behind her and the backpack on her back all she brought with her for the two days she's in town. Hugging Al and I tightly she turns to Happy and I bite the inside of my lip to not laugh when they both do a lean forward then back off hug, never quite getting within arm's reach.

Elbowing Al I say softly "Maybe we should turn around so they can greet each other properly."

Cam throws her bag at me, setting her case on its bottom before wrapping her arms around Happy's neck, pulling his head down and gluing her lips to his. Al and I both pretend to find things to look at while their attention is fully focused on each other, the stream of people passing by and the noise level rising eventually have them passing, Cam's expression is slightly glazed and Hap has a pleased glint in the midnight depths of his eyes when he turns back to us.

Cam shakes her head slightly to clear whatever cobwebs were hanging around "So what's the plan?"

Al and I take her bags and start walking back to the car while I start talking "Hap's taking you back to Charming, I have a car full. We're gonna take your bags to TM and drop them there. We're meeting at TM at 9 tomorrow morning to go for brunch, just the 6 girls manicures and pedicures are booked for 1130 in Stockton. Gem said for us to be out at the reservation at 6, but the ceremony is at 630 so I'd like to get there a whole lot earlier. Are you still okay to do hair and makeup on us all?"

Cam nods, gesturing towards the suitcase I'm towing "That's got all the hair and makeup stuff in it. Can you get Cherry and Lyla to bring their foundations in; I don't know if I have colour matches."

"They're in the car, you can ask them yourself." Al says with a smile "Along with the dresses and shoes that we picked today."

Cam's eyes brighten but Hap stops by his bike "You can see them later. We're all goin' to the same place now so when we get there you can look. The last thing anyone wants to do the day before SAMCRO royalties wedding is have to go hunting for new shit to wear when someone drops a skirt in an airport car park."

My eyes widen at Happy as he hands Cam a helmet, never taking his eyes off what he's doing. After several seconds of silence he looks up "What?"

"SAMCRO royalty?" I say with a light frown.

"Yeah, the son of the founding President who is also step-son of the current Mother Charters President marrying said Pres' niece is national news cupcake. Members from almost every charter State wide arrived today, those that haven't will be pullin' into town tomorrow mornin' or face the wrath of Gemma. And seeing none of us what that, move your asses. And don't make me try and say that shit again, once was bad enough."


	31. Chapter 31

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. I struggled with this chapter for some reason. Took me over 2 days to write and it's not hugely long, normally I get at least a chapter done a day. I was listening to Savage Garden (Truly, Madly, Deeply) while writing this, so the song got a mention, cause it fits my Sarah and Jax

The morning of my second wedding dawns beautifully sunny, there's huge white fluffy clouds in the sky and all the clichés of birds singing outside the windows seem to be coming true. Jax rolls over and smiles at me "You ready to do this again?"

I nod, my eyes drifting over his face "I am, what time did you get home?"

"About 3. Ope decided I needed to have a last night, even though we're already married, he drank more than I did so don't be surprised if D's a little pissed this morning, neither of us could ride so the prospect dropped us off. I might have had to wake her up to get him inside, she locked his ass out and he left his keys at TM and I've already given mine to Juice."

I snicker slightly "I'll fill her full of coffee and sugar, she'll be fine. Are you taking Abel with you or picking him up later?"

"I'll take him with me. My bikes at the lot but the trucks here, that way I can stop and get all the shit from Ma's. Anything you need me to take out?"

Shaking my head I move to slide out of bed but his hand latches on my arm "Nah, don't go running away."

Lifting my eyebrow at him I gesture towards the open bathroom door "I need to pee."

"Well then by all means." Jax lets go of me almost in a hurry watching as I cross the room, leaving the door open is still something I'm getting used too, it wasn't hard for me when it was Al or Cam, I'd lived with them for years but everything with Jax still seems so much like a fairy-tale.

While I'm washing my hands he appears behind me and heads for the toilet himself "I checked on the boy, he's still sleeping, did you spike his milk? And your dog is on his couch with his paws in the air."

Laughing I shake my head, our eyes meeting briefly in the mirror. "Unser told me to let you know he took his trailer out there for you to use. He says he took it, in reality we towed that heavy ass piece of metal out there with the tow truck."

Jax flushes the toilet, crosses the room and washes his hands slowly while I lean against the bench beside him "Tell him thank you, you'll see him before I do."

Jax nods, drying his hands before settling them on either side of me on the vanity trapping me in place "How long do you think we've got before someone disturbs us?" Nuzzling his nose into my neck he speaks softly, his goatee brushing across my skin.

"I have no idea. But we could save water and shower together."

Jax laughs, stepping backwards and turning the shower on, the water pouring from the multiple heads "I don't think it saves water babe."

Shrugging I step past him into the enclosure, pressing the digital display to turn the radio down, the old Savage Garden song perfectly romantic, but not at ½ volume in the enclosed space "Oh well, I guess I'll just shower by myself."

Jax shakes his head, stepping in behind me, his front against my back "Nah that's not happening."

"I thought you might think that." I say with a giggle, turning around and slipping my arms around his neck. Stretching up on my tiptoes I press my lips to his softly, the warmth of the water soaking into my skin while Jax's body presses against mine heating me from the inside out.

Jax detaches his mouth from mine and moves me backwards till the water from the main shower head plasters my hair to my back, smirking he leans down and kisses me again, whispering "That's better." against my lips.

I don't have a chance to ask what he's talking about, he continues to pepper my face with kisses, returning to my mouth after 3 or 4 kisses across my cheeks and forehead. The meeting of our mouths is nothing like the pecks on the rest of my face, each time our lips meet its long and slow brushes of tongues. Jax seems completely unhurried in his examination and kiss claiming of my face, Doj barking right outside the door of the bathroom makes him pull his lips from mine with a sigh.

"Door or Abel?" He asks, pressing his forehead to mine.

Cocking my head to the side I listen for a second "Neither. If it was the door he'd still be barking, but he would have run downstairs by now. If it's Abel he would scratch the door."

'Then what was that for?"

I laugh "It's his 'I'm here, don't forget about me' bark. The one to remind me that he hasn't had breakfast and he thinks he's starving."

Jax chuckles, shaking his head. Sliding his arms around my waist he lifts me up, turning us both so my back is pressed to the only part of the shower without heads on it, the reactive wrapping of my legs around his waist pulls his lower body closer to mine and he smirks when it barely takes an adjustment of my hips for my body to accept him.

"We're getting good at this." Jax says with a rough gravel in his voice.

Clamping my muscles around him I lift an eyebrow "Practice makes perfect."

Jax chuckles, the sound cutting of in mid-exhalation when I tilt my hips again, drawing him deeper inside me, tightening my arms around his neck my entire body presses closer to his, the heat from the shower battling with the warmth being connected to Jax brings.

Pressing me tighter to the wall till I can't move Jax's voice is a harsh whisper beside my ear "If you keep that up you're really going to make me feel like a teenager again. I'll be done before you get started babe."

I laugh and Jax groans, nipping at my earlobe, sliding my legs over each other a bit more I pull him even closer till there's not a hairs breath between our bodies "Baby just love me, you've never disappointed me yet."

Jax tilts his head to look at me, his eyes blazing with need "I don't intend on ever disappointing you Sarah."

I smile gently as he relaxes his iron hold on me, our bodies starting to move slowly against each other, the water hitting Jax between the shoulder blades and cascading down over my legs. Jax presses his mouth back to mine, his arms tight around my waist while my fingers dig into his shoulders, the pressure on my piercing firing lightning bolts through my blood as he starts thrusting rhythmically into my body.

Our tongues slide across each other's in the same dancing pattern that Jax has set with his hips, a couple of short barely there touches then countless long dragging caresses that blaze the last threads of sanity from my brain. Something switches in my mind and I can't get close enough to him, tightening my arms around his neck he reads the need in my gestures, changing his pace to short rapid thrusts that evaporate my blood in my veins. Jax pulls his mouth off mine, moving his head to my neck where a light dragging of his teeth over my pounding pulse sends me catapulting into an orgasm that leaves me panting heavily, my muscles twitching each time he moves.

He continues to move his pelvis rapidly, wringing the last drops of pleasure from my body before groaning into my skin and stilling completely, his face buried in the crook of my neck, his breath hot on the now cool water drops that are clinging to my skin. Inhaling the scent that's coming off his skin he holds me close for a minute before slowly lowering me to my feet.

Doj barks again, the sound fading and Jax starts laughing, watching as I reach for the shampoo "Is that his 'feed me' bark?"

Shaking my head I wash my hair as fast as I can "No, that's his 'hurry up there's someone here' bark. Can't you hear him; he's at the door I think." Sure enough as Jax cocks his head the sound of Doj still barking can be heard over the shower and the radio which has moved on to an Evanescence cover of a Nirvana song. Reaching over I slap the button, turning the radio completely off which makes Jax laugh.

"You still hate covers?"

Nodding "Only of Nirvana songs."

He pushes open the door "I'll go see who's waking the neighbourhood and then be back, as long as it's someone I trust in the house." Jax laughs, throwing a towel around his waist and disappearing from sight.


	32. Chapter 32

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Jax appears back in the bathroom as I'm finishing in the shower; stepping out into the towel he picked up he kisses my forehead "It was D. She said she didn't want you driving today. Ope's got their kids as punishment for this morning. She's making coffee."

Wrapping my hair up in another towel I go into the wardrobe to get dressed, coming out a couple of minutes later in a pair of jeans, flat boots and my Mrs Jax Teller t-shirt. Going back into the bathroom Jax snickers at the shirt "You're going to wear that shirt out."

Shrugging I finish drying my hair as best I can with the towel "I like it."

Jax grins at me as he turns the water off, opening the door "I like it too babe. Shows the whole world that your crazy ass is mine."

Kissing him on the cheek as I go past I smile "I'll see you later?"

Jax nods, turning around and pulling me back to him. "Of course you will." He whispers lowering his head and kissing me again.

The sound of a throat being cleared in the doorway draws us apart and I turn around. Donna's standing there with her back to us "Don't mean to bust any bubbles but there's a hungry kid here and dog downstairs and me with a huge need for food."

Jax reluctantly let's go of my hands, never tearing his eyes off mine till I'm through the door. Lifting Abel out of Donna's arms he smiles up at me, making some nonsense noises while we bounce down the stairs. Heating a bottle for him I pass him and it back to Donna while Doj dances around my ankles.

Looking down at him I lift an eyebrow "Sit." Waiting till he's sitting down I step around him and go get his breakfast, mixing the dog biscuits and wet food into the bowl and putting it back into the stand I deliberately wait till after I've opened the French doors and poured two cups of coffee before nodding and patting his head, "Eat."

He practically runs to his bowl, sticking his entire nose in the sounds of crunching biscuits loud in the quiet room.

Donna accepts the cup I hand her with a smile "We all set for today?"

"Hope so. Gemma's got her dress; the other ones are all at TM with the shoes so that no one would see them. Thanks for letting me use your wardrobe. All that Lyla and Cherry have to bring is their foundation, Cam's got everything else. Jax is taking Abel and Doj when he goes, and I know that the twins are with Ope so that takes a load off worrying about kids."

Jax sticks his head in the door "The kid ready?"

"Nope, he's finishing breakfast. Come have coffee and something to eat."

Donna shakes her head "I wouldn't bother with food. Gem told me after you bailed last night that she's got a whole lot of food being delivered in about 20 minutes." Donna glances at her watch "In fact, about 10 minutes."

Jax nods "Well do you want to bring him to the lot when, I'll take your truck and you bring mine."

"Okay baby, I'll make sure to get his diaper bag which you forgot."

Jax shudders "I don't care if it's a needed thing for him I ain't carrying a handbag."

Donna laughs and I roll my eyes "It's Gucci, and it's more than a handbag. As long as you've got him you kinda need it. And can you please make sure there's somewhere we can heat his bottles at the reservation?"

Jax leans down kissing me "I already did. Unser's trailer has a generator hooked up to it, it's parked far enough away that you can't hear it before you freak. And if that's not enough we can use the Chief's house which is the other side of the treeline on field where this whole thing is gonna be."

"I'm sure the trailer is fine, as long as it has power and a decent amount of water in the tank we'll be all good baby. Now you better go if you're planning on eating with your brothers. I'll be about 30 minutes by the time I get the monster ready and Abel changed."

"Okay." Jax steps backwards from the door and I exchange a look with Donna, lifting my eyebrow at her, she erupts into giggles and shakes her head.

"Hey Jax, you may want to consider coming back to give your son a kiss before you leave." Donna calls.

Jax reappears in the door a sheepish look on his face "Sorry babe, I've got a big event today, my brains fried."

I smile at him "What big event?"

"Oh, some insane woman has agreed to stand up in front of our family and friends and pledge to spend her life with me, again." Jax drops into a crouch between Donna and me, stroking his hand over Abel's head softly then pressing a light kiss to the soft blonde hair. Standing up again he tilts my chair back so I'm balanced on the back legs, his arm sliding under the backrest to hold me up when he leans down and presses his lips to mine firmly, his tongue stealing my breath and the startled squeak from my lungs.

Putting the chair back on its legs he smirks at the light flush on my cheeks "Love you."

"Love you too Jax." Lifting Abel's arm I wave his hand "And Abel loves you too daddy."

Donna smiles over at me while Abel finishes his bottle "He seems relaxed with the baby."

"He is," I reply "Still not quite as confident with the whole bathing thing but I think that's more cause I normally end up soaked then anything. Abel likes to slap the water and see where it goes." Reaching over I tickle Abel's tummy lightly smiling when he giggles.

"I'll just run upstairs and finish packing his bag and get the rest of the stuff I need, you okay for a second?"

Donna nods, waving her arm towards the door "Yeah I'm good. Jax does realise that I'll be the one driving aye?"

Getting up I shrug "Who knows. Doesn't matter, you're covered by our insurance and I trust you D. Won't be long."

Darting up the stairs it takes me less than 15 minutes to pack Abel's diaper bag with 2 clean outfits for the night in case he needs a change and hopefully enough diapers, wipes and cream to last. The bottles are all made up already downstairs in the fridge and there's a mini pack of formula if he runs out that I made up to tuck in the side of the bag as well. Snatching my makeup case from the bathroom cupboard I fill it with the bits I need, adding the jewellery boxes from Jax on the top before closing it and carrying both bags downstairs.

"Done."

Donna looks up from the table and grins "Good. Let's get this show on the road."


	33. Chapter 33

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Short chapter again, sorry all.

The changing of cars and dropping off of Abel and Doj doesn't take more than 20 minutes. Handing Gemma the bag for Abel she laughs and opens the back of her Caddy to show me the pack of diapers she's left in there, with the wipes, a new tin of formula and what appears to be 6 new bottles. "I think we're both prepared for him baby. I even brought a couple of outfits for him too." Holding up two mini hangers I giggle at the tuxedo onesie hanging from one hand and the one that looks like it's a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt printed on soft cotton.

"Let Jax decide which one he wears." I tell Gemma, giving her a quick hug as the horn on my Nitro is jabbed. Donna sitting in the driver's seat impatiently tapping the steering wheel.

"Are we ready? We have to be in Stockton at the beauty parlour at 1130 and it's already 915." Donna grouches when I get into the passenger's seat.

Buckling my seatbelt I saw a quick hello to Cherry and Lyla in the backseat and wave out the window to Al and Cam who are pulling out of a car park in Al's car. "Alright D, keep your panties on. We can go now."

We stop at Lumpy's for breakfast, Cherry's eyes almost popping out of her head when she watches Al and Lyla both demolish plates stacked with bacon, eggs, sausage and hash browns along with several cups of coffee. Shaking my head in amusement "I know. I'd love to be able to eat that much but I'd get fat."

Donna snorts, watching as Al bites into a piece of toast "Nah, you'd just make yourself sick."

"That too."

Finishing the coffee in my cup I lean back and pull my bag into my lap searching for the pack of breath mints in there, Five hands appear in front of me and I drop tiny green disks onto their palms, throwing the pack back in my bag after sticking one in my own mouth "So we better go, we've got a little over an hour."

The horrendously strong smell of nail polish and the glue from fake nails seems like it's embedded in my nostrils when the 6 of us leave the beauty parlour at 230, we'd all had our nails done by the same two people, the French tips on everyone's feet and matching hands for the 5 'bridesmaids' with my fingers the only ones that look different. Leaning against the side of the car I shake my head inhaling the fresh air.

"Sorry girls, I didn't think they'd book us back-to-back with the same person, I thought they'd have us all being done at the same time." Donna says sounding really irritated.

Shaking her head Cam hugs her lightly "It's okay. Not like we've got to be anywhere in a hurry. I'm doing all the hair and makeup and as long as I have at least a couple of hours total I'll be fine."

Lyla lifts her wrist and checks her watch "Then maybe we should go its 230 and doesn't the wedding start at 630?" I nod "And it's an hour drive from here to wherever it is that we're going?" I nod again and she waves her hands "Well we really should make a move then."

Al ushers into the cars, all of us getting into the two cars and pulling out of the car park before anyone can say anything else about the time.

Turning to Donna when we're half way back to Charming I frown "Where are the dresses?"

Donna laughs "You only just thought about it now?" She giggles for what seems like a long time before snorting and regaining her composure "Gemma took the dresses, shoes, accessories and Cam's make up suitcase to the reservation this morning. It's all in the trailer for us."

Twisting in my seat I look at the pair in the back seat "You brought the foundations like Cam asked?" Both Cherry and Lyla nod and I smile "Sweet, so we've got no issues."

Donna smirks "Nope, we're all sorted."

"Good." I say with a huge smile, leaning my head rest against the top of the seat "Can we stop for coffee please D."

Cherry laughs "You know I don't know anyone that drinks as much coffee as you."

Donna and I glance at each other "Gemma." We both say at the same time laughing.

Turning in my seat again I shrug "I don't really drink as much as it seems I'm sure."

Lyla lifts an eyebrow "Really?"

Laughing again I shrug "Okay so I probably do drink too much. But, oh well. It could be worse; it could be vodka I was drinking instead."

"What the fuck?" Donna snaps, looking into the rear view mirror.

Looking between Lyla and Cherry's shoulders I spot the police car and sigh "Nobody has anything illegal do they?"

Cherry laughs, shaking her head and Lyla snickers "Sure, the person who works in porn carries illegal substances. Luann would kill me if I got busted for anything, especially with only a little while till I'm done working for her."

Giggling as the car coasts to a stop "Lu would only wonder where you got it from and why you didn't share with her."

Al and Cam stop just in front of us, my phone chirps a second later with a text from Cam asking if we're okay. Replying quickly that we're fine and for them to keep going I'm just dropping my phone again when the officer finally makes it to the driver's window which Donna has already rolled down. Her licence along with both my registration and insurance details in her hand hanging out the window.

Within seconds the papers are passed back and he leans down "Who's the owner?"

"Me." I say with a sigh, leaning forward "Is there a problem officer?"

He chuckles "No, not at all, I was just admiring the paintjob. Is there a story behind it?"

Leaning further past Donna I read the name badge attached to his shirt "Look Officer Trammel, you obviously know exactly what it means. Is there a problem?"

The officers face brightens into a smile "No, not at all. Just wondering your connection to the Sons."

Pointing at Al's car which is still in front of us "Two old ladies in there, four in here, you could say we're the force that keeps SAMCRO fed, clothed and well fucked."

Giggling as he chokes on a rapidly inhaled breath it takes several seconds before he stands up "Well, then I guess you're all on the way to the wedding?"

Donna snorts "They're won't be a wedding unless we get there."

"Pardon?"

Donna copies my gesture in pointing towards Al's car "Two bridesmaids in there, three in here along with the bride."

Stepping back from the car he waves his hand forwards with a chuckle "Well then you better go, I remember how many hours my wife took to get ready before our wedding."

Blowing a raspberry towards the roof Donna ignores me and thanks the officer, pulling out around Al and Cam seeing she's the only one in the 2 cars who actually knows where we're going.

Donna passes me back all the paperwork she was still holding as she steers back onto the road with a thoughtful hum. Waiting till she works out what she's thinking it's about a mile later that she opens her mouth "I wonder if he's on the guest list."

I shrug "I have no idea, all I know is that the people who used to share my last name were invited and declined to even answer so they're not on the final list Gemma did for the security she organised."

Cherry leans forwards, peering between the seats "Why is there going to be security?"

"Ask Gem!" Donna and I both say, sharing a glance. We're fully aware that she organised security at Clays request due to the highly wanted Irishmen who will be there.


	34. Chapter 34

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Chapter 36 is the one with the reservation wedding, to be posted on Tuesday my time.

As to the queries about my health; I'm doing okay at the moment. I have had horrible back pain (muscular only) since I came home but anti-inflams and pain killers are helping a bit. I also picked up a cold which was nice enough to wait till 3 days before I go back to work to come out. I go to see the surgeon in 1-2 weeks to find out when the GB is coming out.

When we reach the reservation it's immediately obvious how much thought Gemma has put into it, on either side of the gates we're using are huge white posts wrapped in purple ribbons, the banner she'd had made hanging between them, every 5 yards or so down the drive there's another ribbon wrapped post.

Reaching a fork in the road Donna pauses "Which way are we meant to go?"

"I don't know, ring your husband and ask, or mine. They brought the trailer here the other day for us. Jax apparently forgot to tell me where it is." I tell her, leaning forwards like it'll help me see where we're meant to go.

Donna makes a very quick phone call to Opie, turning towards the right and driving less than 100 yards before taking a left into a tree enclosed field where Unser's huge silver trailer is attached to the back of the TM tow truck. Gemma's Caddy is parked to one side of it with one of Unser's trucks and half a dozen other cars, people walking through an arch in the trees into what seems to be another field carrying chairs, others carrying boxes with white and purple material poking out the top. Gemma spots us as she's passing a box from the back of the truck to one of the people helping.

Donna parks the car right beside the front of the trailer, Al pulling up beside it. It's almost funny watching Gemma work her way through the cars towards us, a huge smile on her face.

"I was starting to wonder if you'd gotten lost." Gemma says, hugging Donna and I after we reach her sides. "Not to mention my son was starting to think you weren't coming."

Al laughs "Like that would happen. The only way she wouldn't be here is if she couldn't walk."

Lyla snickers, shaking her head "Nah, she'd be here even then. I think it would take a full body cast for her to not be here."

Gemma nods "Good. Now you girls go get dressed, you've got 3 hours till you need to be ready."

Cam nods "That's hopefully enough time."

Gemma waves towards the trailer "There's enough water in the tanks for you all to have very quick showers, Wayne said not to bother trying to wash your hair, it won't happen."

Shaking my head at her "I wouldn't attempt to wash my hair in a trailer anyway." Donna leans forwards, tugging the ends and laughing.

"Thank god for that. I think it'd take you an hour just to wash your hair if that's the same as any normal shower in one of those things." Cam says with a shudder.

Gemma turns back to the truck leaving us to head straight for the trailer. Sitting down on one of the sofas inside the cramped space Cam heads straight to the end where the door's open through to the bedroom, setting her case up on the bed she turns around and grins "I think it'll be easiest starting with the shortest hair first so I'll do yours first Donna, then my own, Cherry, Al, Lyla and then our bride's last cause it'll take me the longest."

Donna jumps up and heads into the tiny cubical that acts as a shower, stepping out backwards she grimaces "No way, not happening. Looks like that thing hasn't been cleaned in months."

"Umm, D, no one lives in this, it can't be that bad." I say with a lifted eyebrow.

"Yeah it's not dirty; it's dusty and full of creepy crawlies. I'm pretty sure there's a mommy and daddy spider in there along with their 900 children." Donna says, shuddering in revulsion.

Cam peeks her head through the door sliding it closed and holding out her hand "Phone."

Sliding my phone into her hand she flicks it open "What button do I push for Gemma or a Son."

"Jax is 1, Opie's 3, Gem's 5 on speed dial." I recite making Donna cock her head to the side.

"How many speed dials do you have set?"

"All of them." I reply with a giggle "And as long as I remember which one is who I'm all good."

"Who else is on there?" Cherry asks with a giggle. 

Sighing I hold up both hands. Folding down each finger as I name someone "Jax, Donna, Opie, Clay, Gemma, Happy, Al, Cam, TM & the clubhouse."

Donna nods "Fair enough, the only difference is I don't have Clay, Happy, Al or Cam I have Piney, Mary, the house and the preschool."

Cam closes my phone and passes it back "Gem's bringing over the pack of baby wipes, it's not as good as a proper shower but it'll do seeing no one is going in that box with the eight legged invasion."

I shrug "I should be fine, I showered this morning and it's not like eating and having nails done works up a sweat."

Everyone laughs at me as there's a knock on the door, Gemma sticks her head in "I should have checked the shower this morning."

Al shrugs "No problem. Apparently neither D nor Cam want to shower with visitors."

Gemma passes over the huge pack of wipes and steps backwards "Less than 3 hours girls. You better be ready."

The door snicks closed and her voice sounds through the door "No! That's not meant to go there yet."

My eyes lock on Donna's and we both start laughing, everyone else looking at us strangely, neither of us can stop laughing and it's not till Cam snorts and throws the wipes at me that we stop laughing, well Donna does, long enough to explain "Jax's birthday just before S left, Gem wanted him to have a huge party and he just let her go with the plans. The days leading up to his birthday she was all Drill Sargeant ordering us all around, but he'd slipped and told us that he wasn't going to be there."

Donna picks up the wipes and goes through to the bedroom, closing the door behind her continuing to talk through the door "Jax had planned to go to the cabin with Tart-y, they'd just made up after their latest fight. The morning of his party Gemma had us all running round making dips, salads, marinating steaks and stuff like that. Gemma kept shouting that things were in the wrong place. I swear for almost 4 hours the only sentences that came out of her mouth started with 'no' followed by whatever was wrong."

"And then she got mad at 6pm when Jax wasn't there, she tried calling him for ages but there was no answer. 7pm and he still wasn't there she started ringing him, every 10 minutes for the next hour. 8pm arrived and she threw a Gemma sized fit." I continue, remembering the ranting tirades she spat out. "9 she finally gave up on him coming at all and finally fed us, but she was more interested in bourbon by that stage. Jax was M.I.A. till almost four days later when he finally came home. Gemma refused to speak to him for almost a month, Clay ended up being the errand boy till he put his foot down, locking them together in TM's office till they actually talked."

Donna opens the door, dressed in a satin dressing gown I don't recognise. Turning around shows me the back where 'bridesmaid' is written in curly script. "There's 5 of these and a black one for you with 'bride' on the back."

Cam directs her towards the stool she'd pulled out from under the tiny table telling her to sit. Recreating the hairstyle that had been done for the wedding doesn't take her long in Donna's hair, but she'd sat and watched each pin being put in on both D's and Al's while in New York, her reasoning was so she could fix anything if it started coming out.


	35. Chapter 35

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Forgot to post photos of robes from last chapter, they're posted now.

There's a knocks on the door as Cam's finishing my lipstick, the fact she knows me so well has been a blessing again, she's barely put anything on my face.

Donna leans over and opens the door "Come in Gem."

Gemma steps up into the trailer "Are you girls almost ready? Everyone's here." Gemma looks over at me, her face splitting into a smile "Oh baby, you look gorgeous." Looking around "You all do of course."

Cam laughs "Yes, but the bride should always be the one who steals the show."

Gemma hugs me tightly, whispering "Jax is going to be blown away."

Smiling at her "I hope not, I'm rather attached to him."

Going back down the steps she heads across the grass towards the gap in the trees calling over her shoulder "I'll send the guys over in a second."

Everyone lifts their eyes at me and I shrug "I asked her to arrange for the guys to come take you to your seats. D, you're staying with me obviously. That way it works that everyone knows you're involved with Sons."

There's a hard thump at the door a few minutes later and Opie's voice comes through the open gap "You all ready?"

"Hold on baby." Donna calls, passing me my shoes, waiting while I wiggle my feet into them and do up the buckles. Standing up Donna shakes her head as she looks up at me "I hope those don't make you taller than Jax."

Shaking my head I giggle "I'd have to pull out the 6 inch platforms and then I'd still only barely be eye level with him."

Waiting while Cam, Al, Lyla and Cherry walk out of the trailer, Donna hugs me tightly "Opie and I brought you a gift to go with the stuff Jax brought you."

"What?"

"Just go see Ope, he's got it. You're too nosey and would have seen the box."

Donna darts out the door in front of me, Opie lifting her down to the ground then holding out his hand to help me down. Miles leans past us and locks the door, shoving the key into his pocket and taking Lyla's hand, the pair of them leading the way that Gemma had gone. Opie lifts up his hand and passes me the silver box.

"Now it's nothing as flash as what Jax brought you, but D picked it for you and I agreed. It's perfectly you." Ope says while I crack the lid.

The silver bracelet that's sitting in on the black velvet has a stone in the centre the same colour as the necklace and earrings Jax brought me. Smiling up at them I hug them both tightly "Thank you, and you didn't have to."

Ope shrugs "And you didn't have to do everything for us that you have done, but you did so get over it. Now we need to get a move on."

Donna helps me do the bracelet up around one wrist, tossing the box in the passenger's door of my Nitro. "We ready then?"

I shake my head "Not yet."

Opie leans down "It's all sorted S."

Looking up at him I frown but he nods, waving his arm towards the field where I can now hear a murmur of voices. "Okay."

Donna slides her arm through one of Opie's elbows and he holds the other one out for me, crossing the grass we all stop just inside the tree line where Donna leans over and hugs me again "See you up there."

"What?" I look at her confused as she pulls Doj's lead out of Clay's hand and walks through the gap; disappearing before I can take in more than the fact Doj's collar is wrapped in white ribbon and his lead has a purple ribbon wrapped around it. Turning my confused gaze to Opie he chuckles.

"Clay and I talked about it, we know you asked him to give you away this time and he is, but we thought that I could too. If that's alright?"

I blink rapidly against the tears that well in my eyes, nodding as Clay clears his throat "Now pumpkin. If you ruin that shit on your face I'm pretty sure someone will be pissed."

Turning around I hug him whispering my thanks into his ear.

His huge shoulders jerk as he shrugs "Let's get this show on the road huh?"

Laughing I nod, swiping my fingers under my eyes. Linking both my elbows through Clay and Opie's I pause for a second looking at Clay "How much of a preduction has this turned into?"

Clay chuckles "You know Gem. She's a perfectionist and as long as you have sorted what you want to say you'll be all good."

"What?!" I spit out "What do you mean?"

Opie chuckles "I'm guessing you didn't get that memo? Gem has the Tribes Chief here to say some things, but cause you're already married there doesn't have to be any vows. Gem told Jax at the beginning of last week to sort something to say. Did she forget to tell you?"

I nod, my brain racing a mile a minute, the way I can see it I have about 4 minutes before I'm going to be dropped in an unexpected gap where I have to say something.

Opie lifts his free hand and rests it on my shoulder "You'll be fine S."

Clay nods, squeezing my fingers lightly "Just tell them how you feel about Jax and it'll be perfect."

"Ha! Thanks you two." I poke my tongue out at them, square my shoulders and step out of the gap from the trees whispering "I'll think of something, I hope."


	36. Chapter 36

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Stepping into the field where Gemma has obviously worked everyone hard my breath catches in my throat. Jax is standing with Donna and the Chief under a white arch wrapped with purple ribbons, long hanging bouquets of a mixture of flowers hanging behind the Chief, from where I'm standing I can smell the orchids and roses that are gathered in tall standing vases at the end of every 3 rows of chairs. Each of the chairs has been covered in a white cover with a purple ribbon, glancing at one of them I stifle a giggle when I realise that the centre of each ribbon has an Anarchy symbol pinned to the bow.

Clay follows my gaze and shrugs "She went all out for this." He says quietly.

Walking down the aisle I'm amazed at how Gemma managed to combine things from me and Jax. The aisle is typical of any SAMCRO wedding, the first part of it that we walk down is bikes face to face every part of them gleeming silver and blackest black until we reach the chairs, out of the 30 bikes we walk past I can only identify those belonging to the Redwood members, their 10 bikes the pairs that we walk past last, Clay and Jax's across from each other with Opie and Hap's the next row back.

Looking up at Jax I smile, completely missing the faces of everyone that I'm walking past. Clay taps my fingers lightly as we reach the first row. Gemma's holding Abel with Doj sitting at her side, an empty chair for Clay on her other side with 2 men I don't recognise beside it, I smile at her and then let my eyes pass over the men, the smile still on my face even though I don't know who they are. Clay and Opie both hug Jax and I tightly, slapping him on the back before Clay backs to his seat and Opie moves to stand beside Jax.

Jax reaches over and grabs my hands pulling me to stand in front of him, my heels bringing me so I can look in his eyes without having to tilt my head back too far. Smiling at him I squeeze his fingers and turn my head to look at the Chief.

The Chief looks over us both and chuckles "Who gives this woman to this man."

I narrow my eyes when every single Redwood Son and Gemma all calls "We Do!" in unison. Doj barks happily once at the noise, running in a circle before sitting down again, his tail smacking the back of Gemma's chair with each wag.

Jax pulls me closer to him, sliding his arms around my waist and resting his linked hands over the base of my spine "That's okay babe, I'll take you, and all your baking too."

Happy, Tig and Clay all groan and I giggle stretching up and kissing Jax lightly.

The Chief clears his throat "Not to interrupt, but I believe I was speaking."

"Sorry sir." I say quietly.

He snickers "Thought I already told you, no calling me sir." Clearing his throat he looks out over the gathered people "Brothers and sisters, we come together today under the all seeing eye of nature to witness the reaffirmation of the blessed joining of Jackson and Sarah. I'd like to share a blessing of the Apache with you. Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold; for each of you will always be warmth for the other. Now you will feel no loneliness for you will always be each other's companion. Now you are two persons with only one life before you. May beauty and peace surround you both through your journey ahead and through all the years to come. I believe you've prepared your own words as well?"

Snorting lightly I squeeze Jax's hand and beg him to realise I need him to go first. Clearing his throat he looks down at me and smiles "I've loved you for longer then I realised, I loved you before I knew what love was. I promise to love you for the rest of my days, to protect you and Abel with every breath I have and every beat of my heart."

Opie clears his throat "What else?"

"I promise to treat you as good as my leather, and ride you as much as my Harley." He says with a chuckle as everyone echoes his words.

Jax leans down and kisses my lips slowly. Turning to look at the crowd I shrug "Forgive me if this isn't very eloquent, I was only informed about two minutes ago I had to say something."

"Oops, sorry baby." Gemma calls from her seat, laughing at my glare.

Lifting my hands to his chest I rest my left palm over the centre of his breastbone where his heart is beating, the other I deliberately set over the Redwood patch on his kutte, my finger lightly tracing over the word "I love you Jax. I've loved you since the second I met you, bad attitude and all. I loved you when you were dreaming about Harley's and Kuttes, I loved you when you finally got your first Harley. I loved you when you got your prospect patch and when the full patch took it's place. I love you for the boy you were and the man you became. I love you for the Son, brother, uncle, father that you are and I will love you as the husband you now are for the rest of my life."

Swiping at the random tear that welled in the corner of my eyes I swallow tightly, glad I managed to figure out what I wanted to say with such short notice.

The Chief smiles at us both "I know that the rings are already on the fingers so I won't ask about that. I also know that there's no need for me to pronounce you man and wife so all I'll say is have at it."

Jax grins a split second before pulling me closer to his chest and pressing his mouth to mine, his hands sliding up my back to cup my cheeks. Kissing me slowly he steals the breath from my lungs, pulling away from him Gemma is the first one to get up, coming over to hug us both. Lifting Abel out of her arms I hold her hand and squeeze her fingers before she can move. Doj sticks his wet nose under our joined hands making us both laugh. Looking down at him I giggle "Sit."

Jax and I stay where we are with Abel and Doj while everyone that's decided they are important enough comes up and shakes Jax's hand, some attempting one armed hugs, which is the exact reason I nabbed Abel. Most of these people I don't know well enough to want them to touch me, the only ones that hug both me and Abel are the Redwood Sons and my girls, each of them offering to take Abel which ends with me shaking my head and Jax laughing. Clay holds back with the unfamiliar men and when we have a slight gap between people I turn to Jax "Those are the Kings aren't they?"

Jax nods, pulling me closer to his side and kissing my hair, whispering very quietly into my ear "Yeah. They're here to talk about the modifications of the gun distribution. Sorry that this is happening today babe."

Shrugging I accept the thanks of some of the out of town members, Jax greeting them with back slapping man-hugs. "It's okay, I'm happy this is happening I don't care if it's here or not. The sooner it's agreed the better."

The ceremony that Gemma organised was so short that by 730pm the whole place looks different, the chairs are all still there but the giant vases have been moved to the edges and tables have been set up around the wooden flooring that had been put down. Three huge buffet tables have been brought in and there's a crowd of people walking between them and some catering trucks that pulled into the field just after 7. 745 Gemma jumps up onto the stage and grabs the microphone attached to a stand, gesturing to Tig who whistles loudly.

"Thanks Tiggie. Food's about to be served; now I know you all have been enjoying the open bar so enjoy the food as well. Remember, if you haven't already dropped it the gift table is the one right beside me covered in presents." Gemma aims her last comment at Clay who starts patting his pockets, pulling an envelope from it and chuckling as he tosses it into a huge basket that's already layered with similar looking things.

Pulling my hand from Jax's I dart up to Gemma's side and pull the mike from her hand smiling at her "If everyone doesn't mind I'd like to stay a few things?"

Clay nods and in reality he was the only one whose opinion I was asking. If he'd approved me speaking everyone will listen.

"Thanks Uncle Clay. First, please don't feed the dog. He'll pretend he's starving and look at you with huge brown eyes begging for any tit bits." True to my words everyone looks over where I've gestured to see that Doj is sitting at the end of one of the buffet tables, his chin 2 inches away from resting on the edge of the table cloth. "I'm the one that will have to deal with him when he has a sore stomach. Before anyone worries, he's got a huge beef bone and a carrot the size of my arm that he's dragged behind the stage to chew on so he's got his wedding meal, he just thinks everything that humans eat he should be allowed to have too. Now, on to happier things. I wanted to thank you all for coming to start with. I know a lot of you have travelled a long way to get here and it makes me happy to see that all of Jax's _very_ extended family is here to support him." The crowd chuckles and I can see the Irishmen nodding from where they're sitting just by the stage. "Gemma organised this after Jax and I ran away to New York to get married. In fairness though, it was all his fault."

Turning to Gemma I hug her again "I want to give the biggest thanks to you though Gem. You've gone out of your way to organise all of this for us and it's absolutely stunning. I want to thank you for everything you've done for me from the second you took me under your wing as the strange girl who latched onto your husband when I was 12 years old. You're the Matriarch of the Sons; you're my Aunt, the mother figure that helped mould me into who I am today. You're the iron in my will, the attitude in my blood and the steel in my spine." Gemma swipes at her eyes and I laugh "Now don't go crying on me, I'm almost done. You're the mother to my husband and the grandmother to my son and the woman I will always look to for guidance. I wouldn't be who I am, where I am today without you." Gemma hugs me tightly, my last words whispered just for her "I love you Mom, for your son, for your family, for everything."


	37. Chapter 37

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Mid-way through dinner which Gemma had combined all of our favourite foods so we ended up with mac and cheese beside sirloin steaks Happy appears at my side, a frown on his face.

"What's wrong Hap?" Jax asks quietly, looking around to make sure there's no shit happening, between the few 9ers that are there with Laroy, the Irish, Unser, and charter members from the entire country. Seeing no issues he shrugs at me while Happy continues to frown.

Lifting my eyebrows I look over at him "Problem?"

Happy nods, his voice very low when he speaks "Yeah, you could say that."

"Okay, what?" Jax leans forwards in his seat to hear what the issue is while Happy glances around slightly uncomfortably.

"I checked out the dessert table." He sounds annoyed and as I glance over at the table he's talking about I start laughing, instantly realising what his issue is.

Jax hasn't been quiet as attentive and his forehead creases "Okay, you have a problem with dessert?"

Hap nods but doesn't say anything while I start giggling. Stuck in my laughter for several minutes Happy's frown deepens and Jax looks completely confused.

When I finally get hold of my laughter I reach over and pat Happy's hand lightly "It's okay Hap, I'll make you some cupcakes when we get back from the rally."

Jax chuckles as Happy nods, getting back to his feet and crossing back to the table he'd been sitting at. Leaning closer he whispers "He was upset about lack of cupcakes?"

I nod, still giggling occasionally "Have you not realised yet that Hap has an unhealthy love affair with cupcakes?"

Jax nods "No, I realised that he has this obsession with cupcakes, well the ones you make anyway. I just didn't expect him to be upset there weren't any here."

I'm still battling my giggles when Gemma gets everyone's attention with a tap on the microphone "If everyone's finished their dinner we're going to have cake in a minute. I know neither of these guys even thought about a cake during their out of state wedding so we kinda went overboard with the one here."

Clay snorts and Gemma narrows her eyes at him "Okay, I went overboard."

The cake is wheeled out on a separate table that looks kinda like a tea trolley, covered in a white cloth the four tiered cake looks huge, the alternating purple and white layers with a motorcycle topper on it make my eyes widen and me giggle at the same time.

Jax pushes his chair back and holds out his hand to help me get up, the several glasses of wine I've drunk making me slightly unsteady on my feet for a fraction of a second and he chuckles when I lean against his side as we walk over. "You okay babe?"

I nod, resting my head on his shoulder for a second "Yeah, just a bit of a head rush."

Jax tightens his grip on my side, squishing me closer to his body as we reach his mother's side, the huge silver knife in her hand engraved with our initials and wrapped in a long purple ribbon which almost touches the ground. Handing it to Jax handle first she steps backwards so that the people who've stepped forwards can take photos, including Al who I finally notice has one of my cameras with her. Cocking my head to the side in silent question she gestures towards Gemma with a grin.

We make the first cut into the cake, setting the knife beside it while two of the catering crew dart forward to wheel the cake away to be cut into slices. The almost whispered question regarding the top tier makes Jax frown in confusion again and I shrug, explaining as we're talking back to our seats that the top tier is normally kept for a christening cake.

Jax shudders slightly "Can you imagine my mother if we let her loose on something like that?"

I grimace as Al reaches our side, my camera hanging from her neck and a grin on her face "Gemma was going to organise a photographer but I suggested it might be better if someone already coming did it, someone that was in the no about our green friends." Al's eyes flick towards the table where Clay and Gemma are talking with the Irishmen who's names I can't remember and accents I can barely decipher.

Jax nods in understanding, passing my glass to me and picking up his second beer of the four he allowed himself, he'd already told me he was driving later so would stay away from spirits much to my shock and happiness when he pointed out my intense dislike for anyone who drank to much and drove was the deciding factor.

Al drifts off again, snapping photos as she goes of the tables, even from where I'm sitting I can see her carefully framing each to not show the Irish who shouldn't be in the country due to the level of wantedness.

The catering staff start reappearing from the back with plates containing cake, one of them comes to us and hands us each a piece and a third plate with cake for Doj before returning to the almost constant stream coming through the gap between the food tent and the tree line. Gemma had picked to get two flavours in the cake, the slices coming out are a mixture of vanilla and chocolate, Jax and I end up with one of each. Whistling loudly Doj come trotting towards the table from where he'd been sitting near where the twins were with Piney and Miles, the poor prospect ending up with assistance of feeding duty while Ellie and Kenny's parents and grandfather looked on a laughed.

Jax looks confused as I set the third plate on the ground, sitting back into my chair I smile at him "The Chief made a cake for him. It's completely natural, no cocoa, sugar or anything else that can hurt him. Mainly it's just made of dog food, eggs, flour and chunks of beef."

Jax chuckles "Spoilt dog."

I nod "Wasn't even my idea, apparently because I asked about him being here the Chief decided that he should have some cake too."

Jax shakes his head, picking up his fork and using it to cut a bit of cake off the side "As long as he doesn't want this one too."

"He doesn't. But I do."

Jax looks over at me and laughs, lifting his fork to my lips so I can have the tiny corner piece of the slice of chocolate cake he has, feeding him the bigger bit of vanilla cake on my fork is a cliché that I couldn't pass up, Al managing to get a photo of the moment makes Jax's grimace and my smile widen.

The table covered in cake is emptied quicker then I would have expected but looking up I can see that Al and Lyla both have a slice of each cake in front of them, as do most of the Sons. Shaking my head I gesture for one of the catering crew to come over and quietly ask them to slice some more cake.

Tig follows her through the gap, returning a minute later with a plate and a huge smirk on his face, which lasts till he sits down and shoves the first bite of cake into his mouth. The smirk fades as he chews, his expression turning into one of dislike. Swallowing forcefully he looks around the table where everyone else is enjoying their cake before looking down and narrowing his eyes. Getting to his feet he comes towards the table and sets the plate on the edge.

"What the fuck is this?" He whispers at Jax and I.

Looking down I burst into laughter, my breath coming in gasping giggles as Jax shrugs. Tig's eyes lock on my face and I struggle to get my lungs under control so I can answer.

Tig looks beyond annoyed when I finally manage to start speaking "Tiggie, Tiggie, Tiggie, that is the cake that was made very specially by the Chief of the Wahewa."

Jax snorts in realisation and Tig's eyes narrow even more "It tastes like dog food."

"That's cause it is!" I splutter out between giggles "It was made for Doj. The table is reloaded with normal cake if you want some. I'll give that to Doj too."

Tig growls, stomping off towards the bar where he downs a couple of shots rapidly before collecting cake from the table, sniffing it carefully before returning to his seat.


	38. Chapter 38

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Jax comes up to me almost 2 hours after the cake is finished, resting his hand on my shoulder he drops to a crouch beside me "We've gotta go for about an hour. You okay babe?"

I nod, picking up my glass and draining it for the countless time "Yeah I'm fine." My hand's resting on Doj's head where he's dropped it onto a napkin on my lap, the constant running around he's been doing sniffing people and attempting to beg for food has worn him out and I can see he'll be asleep before long.

Jax disappears with Clay, Piney, Opie, Bobby and the Irish. Turning my attention back to Donna I shrug "Have you packed for Sturgis?"

Donna nods as she leans over and refills my glass from the wine sitting in the middle of the table, emptying my second bottle "Yeah, I forgot how hard it is packing for an extended trip with such a small amount of space."

"Tell me about it. 13 days and I've got a single saddle bag to pack everything I need." I groan.

Donna giggles "You're trying to pack shampoo and all that stuff aren't you?" At my nod she shakes her head "Shampoo, body wash, soap, razors that sort of shit can be brought while we're up there. Save the space S."

Slapping my forehead I laugh "I didn't think about that that saves me like half the bag." Doj looks up at me irritably until I set my hand back on his head and resume scratching softly between his eyes.

Donna shakes her head at the dog laughing "He's a clown. Anyway, you can take a backpack as well. And knowing Hap you might be able to convince him to take some of your stuff."

I shake my head "I wouldn't do that, and you know why. Jax is my Old Man, it's his responsibility to make sure I have everything I need and supply what I don't have."

Looking over at Cam I frown "I really do wish you could come though."

She shakes her head "I know and I told you I can't. I've got too much to do with this whole movie. It did make me realise something though."

"What?" Al leans forwards, propping her elbows on the table.

"I have realised that I hate organising other people. After this I'm done with it." Cam says, picking up her glass and draining the last of her tequila. "I'm happy to work with people but I can't do this shit again."

"Why?" I ask "You've been a bit quiet all day chicky." Cherry and Lyla both leave the table at the gestures of Miles and Kip, heading towards the end of the field where all the bikes had been moved to. Its funny watching them both gesture towards their dresses and high heeled feet before spinning and heading towards the trailer where all our 'day clothes' had been left.

Cam sighs after a few minutes of quiet "You all know I had to put together a staff of 9 other people, well between them all I've managed to find four people I can still stand now. Thankfully it's the same people who're going to be living with me. But after that's done I don't know what I'm going to do."

I smile at her brightly "You could always move here and start doing beauty treatments from home. You'd have word of mouth spreading amongst everyone from SAMCRO pretty fast and all it would take would be one good word from Gemma to Lu and she'd have all the stuff for Caracara being done through you. Actually..." I trail off looking around the room and spotting Luann at the bar. Gesturing her to join us it takes a minute for her to pick her way through the crowd and drop into Lyla's abandoned seat.

"What can I help you with today?" Lu asks with a huge smile.

Glancing at Cam I cock my head to the side "I was talking with Cammy who's about to start a contract with Paramount but she doesn't want to keep going. Who does your hair and makeup for the movies?"

Lu looks over at Cam and taps her bottom lip thoughtfully "Normally I do, but it cuts out a whole lot of editing and shooting time." Looking back at me she lifts an eyebrow "You're thinking I should hire her fulltime to do that for me aren't you?"

I nod enthusiastically "Yes you should. For a few reasons."

Luann chuckles "Give me five good ones and I'll think about it."

Poking my tongue out at her I lean back in my seat holding up 5 fingers, deliberately using the hand not on Doj's head, he's gone to sleep finally, his body leaning heavily against the side of my chair. "She's one of my best friends, you won't get a better reference then the fact she did the hair and makeup on 6 people today in 2 hours." I fold down one finger.

"She trained in one of the best schools in New York and you surely will not find anyone as well trained as her in Charming." Folding a second finger down "She's about to start a contract for a movie with Paramount which will bring her name into the forefront in lots of circles of hair and beauty." A third finger gets folded down.

Wiggling the other two fingers in the air I pause in thought till Cam leans over, pressing another one down "She wants to stay in Charming and this will give her the opportunity to do so and remain employed."

The smile on my face stretches almost from ear to ear when I fold the last one down locking eyes with Luanne "And the last reason is cause I know you won't find anyone as good as her, who wants to be in town, who doesn't mind doing make up on naked people. As long as you _never _ask her to get in front of the camera. Hap will not take that well."

Luann swallows a larger than expected mouthful of whiskey and coughs lightly "What does Hap have to do with any of it."

I grin at her and then at Cam "Cause Hap's her Old Man."

Cam shakes her head furiously "No he's not."

Poking my tongue out again I add "yet." To the end of her sentence, turning to smile at Lu "At least think about it, it's 6 months before she'll be here permanently anyway."

Luann nods, getting to her feet again and hugging me "I'll think about it, I promise. And congratulations, again."

Squeezing her hands lightly she kisses my cheek then disappears back into the crowd.

Jax reappears almost 45 minutes after he left, dropping into a crouch by my side, his hand running over the back of Doj's neck and pulling the ribbon off his collar "You ready to go?"

Nodding at him I get up slowly, lifting the bottom of my dress I cock my head to the side "How are we travelling?"

Jax grins and points to the end of the field where my Nitro is parked, a huge white bow on the roof mirroring the purple one which was on the bonnet earlier and what appears to be about 200 cans trailing behind it. Shaking my head I turn around and spot Opie chuckling beside his wife "Ope I love you, you know that right?"

Opie nods and I smile "And I know you love me so you can go and remove that shit from the back of my car please. The bow is fine, but those cans will get annoying really fast."

Opie keeps laughing as he goes and unhooks the string wrapped around the tow ball. "Told ya she wouldn't go for it." He mutters as he passes the gathered Redwood Sons.


	39. Chapter 39

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Sorry for the long AN: Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Another time jump, only a couple of days though. Sturgis will be covered in a maximum of 3 chapters as I've never been to a motorcycle rally and I have no experience to draw on. These chapters will also have big jumps in them to cover the trips.

Jax shakes me awake while it's still dark outside, our 24 hour banning of all contact from the outside world finished the previous night but everyone knowing we were leaving early this morning for South Dakota we'd heard nothing since we left the reservation after the wedding with Abel in his car seat and Doj with his nose sticking out the window. Gemma had taken all the presents in her Caddy to their house for us to open after we got back from the rally. Al and Juice had agreed to come to the house to look after Doj while we were away.

"Juice just rang; he and Al are on their way. Everyone's due to meet at TM in an hour." Jax says his voice soft in the pre-dawn darkness of our room. "Abel's still sleeping and Ma's not due to come pick him up till after 8. Will they be okay with him till then?"

I shake my head "Hang on; give me a second to wake up." Jax chuckles waiting while I sit up slowly then handing me the coffee that I could smell.

Taking a couple of deep swallows of the made at least 5 minutes ago coffee I rest the cup on my lap "How long have you been up?"

Jax shrugs "An hour or so I guess." It's then I notice he's already showered and dressed and the saddlebags I left on the dressing table are gone. "Helmets and jackets are both downstairs already. Bags are on the bike and I was just double checking everything was sorted. That notebook you've been carrying around while organising all this shit is on the kitchen bench and Clay made sure everyone knew how much they owed you for the accommodation."

I snicker quietly at Jax and his own over-organising coming through for this trip. He'd watched me pack and then repack the saddlebags four times before he'd been convinced we had everything we needed, and what we didn't have we could get at the rally, or along the way.

Jax shakes his head "I know I've picked up some of your OCD habits, but only for shit like this. We're gone for almost 2 weeks remember."

Flicking the blankets off my legs I get up and head towards the bathroom "I know baby. That's why I'm surprised you forgot the phone chargers." I jerk my head towards the wall where both our chargers are still plugged in.

Jax pokes his tongue out at me in a childish move that makes me burst into laughter as he crosses the room towards me "If you'd asked I would have told you I got the other chargers, the spare ones that you insisted we have downstairs. You remember the ones you said we should get so you didn't have to come upstairs to charge your phone."

Turning the shower on and stepping under the spray I shrug "You also told me it was a brilliant idea if I remember rightly. Is the door unlocked for Al and Juice?"

Jax shakes his head "No. I decided waking you up was more important than unlocking the door at 5 am. I'll go open it now. Those muffins you made yesterday, do you want them heated?"

Turning around and looking at him I lift my eyebrow "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my Jax?"

Looking truly confused he crosses his arms "What?"

"I tried to show you how the oven worked so you could heat stuff up and you didn't want to know. Now you're bringing me coffee in bed, again, and asking if I want breakfast heated."

Jax laughs at me as I start rinsing shampoo from my hair "I was just going to stick them in the microwave to be honest. That oven confuses me."

"Baby, all ovens confuse you." I reply with a giggle when he nods. "You better go open the door before Doj wakes up Abel." Having faintly heard the sound of a motorbike pulling into the drive Jax leaves the room quickly, Doj's first bark coming seconds before Jax's voice reaches my ears telling him to be quiet.

Al and Juice had almost laughed at me when I gave them the written lists of everything to remember. Al shoving me out the door as I reminded her that Doj gets fed twice a day was the last straw in her sanity and she just erupted into giggles shoving me towards Jax who was already standing by the bike, my backpack and both helmets in his hands.

"Babe, they know. You've gone over it four times since you came downstairs. If they don't know something they can ring. You're still on the end of the phone. And I think that we should go before Abel wakes up and you refuse to leave."

I nod, zipping my jacket over my jeans and t-shirt "I know. And you're right." Jax's eyes widen and I giggle, sliding the straps of the bag over my shoulders and adjusting them "If Abel woke up it would make it hard for me to leave."

The lot at TM is pretty full for not quiet 6am; the 8 Sons from Fresno, Eureka; San Bernadino and San Gabriel who are making the whole ride with us are already sorted to go. Some of them having been in town for the 'wedding', some having just arrived the day before. The three Redwood Sons bikes are already loaded and ready to go when Jax and I pull into the lot. Clay's standing by the office and as I climb off the bike to go see him Jax grabs my arm "10 minutes and we're leaving."

Nodding I lean down and kiss him lightly "Love you."

Jax grins "Love you too. Now go see Clay so we can get moving."

I give Clay a tight hug, whispering my thanks in his ear again for the fact he's giving up peace and quiet and ending up with a houseful for the next 2 weeks.

Grimacing slightly "Just as well Gem and Neeta get on so well, Neeta's apparently moving in for the next two weeks."

I shudder on behalf of him and pat his arm "If you need to you can always go to the house and make sure Juice and Al aren't burning it down."

Clay laughs "Nah, but I will be keeping an eye on the shit that's going on at the moment. I've already been given orders to keep an eye on Ope's house, and the stores. And we're still trying to get to the bottom of what happened at the Ramada. The fire inspector report was eye opening, but confirming what we already knew about it being arson didn't make any difference. We still don't know who the skirt was."

Rolling my eyes I pop up onto my tiptoes giving him a peck on the cheek "Don't stress too much Uncle Clay. I'm trying not to."

Clay snorts "Yeah, and I can see how well that's working for you pumpkin. I'm almost tempted to make you leave your phone behind on this trip to truly have a holiday but you'd fight me tooth and nail."

I nod and he pushes me towards the bikes with a chuckle "Go and have fun. Make sure you take lots of photos."

Despite only stopping for a half hour for lunch somewhere in the middle of nowhere it's still almost 7pm California time, which works out to 8pm local time when we pull into the lot of the Salt Lake City charter. Having left Charming at 6am (California time) we'd stopped for 10 minutes every 90 minutesish to stretch our legs and walk around a bit which had added almost an hour to the trip but made arriving much easier.

Jax smirks at me when I get off the bike and lean against his shoulder for a second "You okay babe?"

Narrowing my eyes at him he laughs "Aren't you glad that we're here though."

I shake my head "I still would have preferred splitting this trip into 3 days riding, but you guys all out voted me. Who the fuck wants to be on the back of a bike for 10 hours, then another 10 the following day?"

Happy crosses over to me and drops a glass in my vision "Have a drink and calm down cupcake. You're gonna give yourself an aneurysm."

Jax comes over to me about 930 (Salt Lake time) with a plate of food and a very concerned look on his face. Dropping into the seat next to me he sets the plate on the table and picks up my hand "You okay babe?"

I nod, leaning over so I can rest my head on his shoulder "Just tired I think. It's been a long day."

"You ready to find the hotel?" Jax asks "One of the guys said it's not far from here."

Nodding sleepily he hands me the plate "Eat something first though. I'll find out who's coming with us and who's staying here."

Almost like I would have predicted after I've picked my way through half of the burger on the plate Jax is back at my side "There's 6 rooms aye?" I nod and he sits down beside me, picking up the other burger and ripping a huge bite off it "Okay."

Shaking my head I lift my hand and cover his mouth "Wait till your finished please. I love you baby, but I don't wanna see what you're chewing."

Jax laughs, swallowing his bite with a mouthful of beer "All of us from home are going, plus Blade and Tank, who I'm sure you've already noticed brought Abby and Dani with them."

I nod, glancing over at the pair of them who are happily helping behind the bar "Are they all ready to go?"

Jax shakes his head "Nah, but Chibs isn't done yet, he's gonna come with us and get the keys for the other rooms and bring them back."

I nod, dropping what's left of the burger on the plate "I can't eat any more. I'm too tired."

Jax frowns "Are you gonna be okay on the bike if you're that tired?"

"Yeah, as long as you don't take six months to eat that I'll be fine."

Jax chuckles, shoving ¼ of the burger in his mouth in one huge bite that has his cheeks bulging and me turning away in disgust.

The six rooms I'd booked at a motor lodge on the main road end up being all along one stretch. Jax pushes the door to the room open, waving at Chibs as he leaves with the three other keys. Happy takes the room at one end leaving Opie and Donna standing by the room next to us, the other three empty ones on the other side of them. I barely have time to assess the room, the completely functional room that thankfully looks spotlessly clean before Jax slams the door behind me making me jump.

"I'm going to check out the shower, 10 hours of road grime do not make a comfortable sleep." Jax says, pushing open the door to the tiny bathroom.

Tossing the backpack on the bed I nod as I start digging for the water bottles I'd tucked in there before we left the Salt Lake clubhouse. Setting one on each side of the bed I toss the bag back onto the chair and start pulling of my clothes. It's almost a sigh of relief when I kick my boots off; even with the flat boots I'd been wearing the vibrations through the foot pegs all day had made my feet a little sore. Dropping everything else onto the floor by the chair I pad through to the bathroom, pushing the door open I watch Jax under the spray for a few seconds, the water hitting his shoulders as his head's resting on the wall.

Moving further into the room I frown slightly as I pull my hair into a bun on the back of my head "I thought I'd join you, but looking at that I won't be." The shower cubical looks like its small, Jax's body filling most of the space.

Looking over his shoulder at me he pushes open the door "As long as you don't mind being real close there's plenty of room babe."

Sliding my arms around Jax the cold glass of the door brushes my back when he closes it again making me shiver against his chest. Jax turns us so that I'm under the water, the spray hot enough to bring prickles to my skin. Leaning down he presses a kiss to my forehead and chuckles "So now that I have you hear and you can't escape I have a very important question."

Lifting my eyebrow I lean back and look up at him "What?"

Picking up the tiny bar of complimentary soap he wets it before starting to rub slow circles over my back, his mouth just beside my ear "How many times on the ride up here did you cum?"

The startled giggle that emerges from me makes my shoulders shake "Here I was thinking I was doing so well at hiding it. How many times do you think?"

Passing me the soap he runs his hands over my back again, rinsing the bubbles away "Well I know that there was once just before we hit Reno, and once when we were on that long bit where we stretched the bikes a bit." Jax says with a smirk "You almost hid the second one, but you dug your fingers into my stomach enough to give it away."

I shrug, picking up the soap and running it over his chest "You only missed one then."

Jax lifts his eyebrow "When?"

"At the Salt Flats." I reply with a snicker, he'd been watching the guys around us being idiots and missed it, but at that stage we'd been on the road for over 9 hours and everyone's attention was starting to drift.

Jax pulls the soap from my hand and drops it on the shelf behind me "So you got off three times, and all I could do was listen to your breath when you groaned in my ear." I nod and he scowls at me "That's not very fair."

Laughing at him I turn around, pressing my back to his front, finishing washing my body quickly I push the door open and step out "Well if you want to even the numbers you know where I'll be."

Jax is at my side before I can even start drying myself with one of the rough towels provided, pulling the towel from my hand he drops it on the floor and wraps his arms around me "You are a horrible tease Mrs Teller."

Running my hand up his arm I curl my fingers around the back of his neck "It's not teasing if you fully intend on following through Mr Teller." I reply with a smile. Jax leans forwards and pushes my shoulder lightly till I step backwards, my knees hitting the bed and folding under me. With a shriek I fall backwards and land on the mattress. Jax drops his knee on the bed and moves over me, leaning down to kiss me as there's a rapid series of thumps on the door.

"You okay in there cupcake? I heard a scream." Happy's voice is loud and obviously right outside the door.

I can barely splutter out "I'm fine Hap." before bursting into laughter, lifting a pillow I cover my face with it while I laugh. Jax groaning and getting off the bed.

I can hear the door open and Jax's voice a combination of frustrated and amused "She's fine. Her legs got knocked out from under her is all. And Hap, if you hear her scream again and I'm in here she's fine, in fact she's more than fine." The door closes with a loud click.

Throwing the pillow off my face I look over and see him leaning against the door, his shoulders shaking slightly. "You okay baby?"

Jax turns around, his eyes dancing with laughter "Yeah. You better not scream again though, I think he might kill me."

Getting off the bed I cross towards him, the space only a few feet "Well then maybe I should keep my mouth otherwise occupied. And after all, you have to catch up."

Jax's eyes widen when I reach down and wrap my hand around his length, stretching up onto my tiptoes I press a kiss to his mouth, my tongue sliding across his closed lips once before I pull back and slowly lower myself to my knees in front of him. Jax shakes his head "I was kidding about catching up."

I laugh once, looking up at him through my eyelashes "I know." Leaning forwards slightly I peek the tip of my tongue through my lips and run it up the length of his cock "I can stop if you want?"

Jax shakes his head, his breath coming out in a tiny puff "I know you don't like it."

Twitching an eyebrow I shake my head "I wouldn't do it if I didn't like it, now be quiet." Leaning forwards I seal my lips around the head of his cock and suck lightly. His knees almost buckle in front of my eyes and his hand reaches down, tugging lightly on my hair till I pull away from him with a sigh.

Looking up at him I lift my eyebrow "What?"

Jax chuckles "As much as I love that, if you do it again my knees will give way."

I giggle and get to my feet carefully, grabbing his hand and leading him to the bed. Pushing him down onto his back I crawl over him, settling myself on my knees in the gap between his calves. "That better?"

Jax nods, lifting his hand and grabbing my arm "It is, but you're too far away." He pulls sharply, my entire body falling forwards till I land on him with a gasp of expelled air.

Jax laughs softly, running his hands over my back gently "Much better."

Wiggling up his body I cock my head to the side "But I was helping you catch up."

Jax shakes his head bringing his hands up to either side of my face "Babe I don't care about being even, the fact that I made you cum three times today without touching you is such an ego swell."

I can't help but laugh, sliding my leg higher "I can feel that."

Jax groans, pushing me onto my back and settling between my thighs "As I was saying, it was an ego swell that I can't wait to see if I can beat it tomorrow." Jax moves a little, his cock brushing against my lower lips which makes him grin "And I'm going to give myself credit for this too."

Pushing his hips forwards it's me that gasps when his length slides into me slowly, lifting my hands up I wind my fingers into his hair and pull his mouth towards mine "Love you, but shut up and fuck me."

Jax groans, his lips sealing onto mine as he starts moving slowly, my mind shuts off thankfully allowing my muscles to tense and relax around him as our tongue slide over each other in long languid brushes. Jax slides his arms under my back holding me tightly to him as his thrusts get shorter and sharper, holding my body together while it feels like it's about to shudder apart in his arms. His lips catch the groaned exhalation of his name and the sigh that follows my release is echoed back when his body stills completely, his teeth grazing over my bottom lip. Falling to the side of me he pulls me into his side, his breath coming in hot exhalations over my shoulder for several minutes while we both calm our racing hearts and pounding pulses.

Curling as close as I can to Jax's side he chuckles when I sniff the side of his neck and wrinkle my nose "Another shower needed?"

I nod "Yeah, but it can wait till the morning. What time are we leaving?"

Jax shrugs, my head moving on his shoulder "It's another 10 hours to Sturgis. What time does the check in at the place we're staying in close?"

I snort "For the amount of rooms we're using and the time we're there they'll be open when we get there. I'll ring in the morning and find out, and make sure they're won't be any issues if we're late. I'm sure they're running check in's at odd hours with the rally coming up."

Jax nods but before he can start forming a reply my eyes are drifting closed. Kissing my forehead lightly he reaches does so he can pull the blankets over us. "Night babe."

AN: This will be the only post till Monday my time, my brother is in town and I haven't seen him since last year so I won't be around my laptop.


	40. Chapter 40

CHAPTER FORTY

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Sorry this is late, have not been having a good time with my Gall Bladder. Only upside is that in the last year I have lost a total of 30 kgs (66 pounds).

Waking up in the morning I become aware of muscles that hurt more than I thought possible. Jax grins at my winces as I move "Have a really hot shower and you'll be better." He says, pointing towards the bathroom and pulling the covers tighter around his shoulders "I'll have mine after yours."

Pulling clean clothes out of my backpack I toss them on the bed and head into the bathroom.

25 minutes later I feel a lot more relaxed when I step back out of the bathroom. "That worked, that's baby. Now, food?"

Jax shakes his head "While you were in there Hap came by to say that the charter is putting on breakfast before we hit the road. It'll be ready at 8 so we can hit the road at 9."

"So what time will we be in Sturgis?" I ask, dressing while Jax finally slides out of the bed.

"About 8, depending on how many stops we make."

I nod as he heads into the bathroom, already pulling my phone from the front pocket of the bag to make sure it's alright that we check in at 8pm. The sincere thanks I'm given for checking its okay, the assurance that 8pm is fine for a check in and that the office will be open till 9 that night make me smile as I repack the backpack with the dirty clothes.

Breakfast at Salt Lake is an odd experience, instead of the normal bacon, eggs, hash brown spread that Redwood would put on Salt Lake have an industrial size waffle maker working full speed to crank out waffles for the 40 people standing around the lot, the bacon and eggs are present but in much smaller quantities then I'm used to and the hash browns are missing, instead replaced with sausages and grilled tomatoes. Jax keeps pushing me to eat more when after two waffles with bacon and maple syrup I'd pushed the plate away.

Eventually turning to him I grumble "Jax I'm not eating any more cause we're going to be on a bike for the next 10 odd hours, I don't want that much sugary stuff sitting in my stomach which could very possibly make me vomit and not _enjoy_ the ride."

Jax swallows and nods "Okay babe. Do you want more coffee?"

Sighing I shake my head "But I will get some water for the trip."

Jax gestures towards the drum that's got bottles of water and juice floating in it "Help yourself. Maybe get some for D and Ope too. I think she's a bit pre-occupied."

Donna's in the corner of the compound with a couple of the old ladies waving her arms at a set of swings and slide that's obviously a very recent addition. From where I'm standing I can see her explaining about the one that was built at TM for the kids. Pulling four bottles of water out for each of us I carry them to the bikes and dry them on the t-shirt I'd worn the day before then tuck them into the top of the two backpacks. Standing up just as Donna turns around and spots me.

Crossing the lot she frowns slightly "What are you doing?"

"Water." I tell her with a chuckle "But I'd like to get a move on soon, any idea how long the masses will be?"

Donna shrugs "No idea, but I'm sure if our guys started moving everyone would take the hint. Have you got the money from them all yet?"

I roll my eyes "A couple of them have tried so far but I said to wait till we're actually in Sturgis. We're going to have to work out food for 10 days as well and I'm not sure how that's gonna work."

Donna groans "Oh yay, how many women coming?"

"Including us 10 and 20 Sons."

Donna shrugs "That's not as bad as I thought. The 10 of us should be able to cook for us all okay."

I nod "I know that, but I'm more thinking of the buying and transporting of food and beer for those 10 days."

Jax's arm drops over my shoulder "We will sort that when we get there. Stop stressing, this is meant to be a relaxing time for all of us."

I snort slightly, stretching up to kiss him lightly "We ready to go?"

Jax nods, waving his hand behind him where everyone is checking saddlebag straps and pulling on jackets and helmets.

The procession of 20 bikes arrives at the outskirts of Sturgis just after 830, heading straight for the place I've booked it takes Happy and Jax to organise everyone out of the middle of the driveway while Donna and I go get the keys and directions to the 'grove' that we're taking over. The 5 cabins are set in a semi-circle and as Jax coasts through the thick tree line he looks over his shoulder "You sure this is the right place?"

I nod "Yeah, the numbers are over the doors and the map the guy gave me led us here."

The cabins that we're in the middle of look nothing like what I expected. Each is constructed of dark wood logs with a balcony out the front, complete with two rocking chairs, it's obvious which one is the kitchen by the vent for the oven and extractor fans that stick out of the roof, seeing we've rented the whole lot of the cabins the manager had given me the key for the kitchen as well so we could lock it while we were away. Jax backs his bike up beside the cabin in the very centre a huge number '5-3' over the door, the 5 for the fifth 'grove' and 3 for the cabin number.

Jax waits while I get off and stretch slowing before getting to his feet and looking around the group now standing in front of us "So it's up to you all to decide who's sleeping where. Each cabin has 2 double bedrooms and 2 single ones." Donna bounces to my side leaving me with the key for cabin 3 in my hand but lifting the other 4.

"Redwood are gonna claim cabin 3 by the looks of that." She says with a chuckle, watching as Happy, Chibs and Opie back their bikes in beside Jax's. "If anyone has any preferences for which cabin they want, or roommates speak now or I'll just throw numbers at you."

Between the lot of them they manage to sort themselves out, without Donna having to go 'mommy organising' them and 30 minutes later the bikes are parked by the cabins and the area is full of the noises of people slowing moving unpacking.

The first hurdle comes almost 45 minutes after we arrived when one of the women from Salt Lake appears in the door with an apologetic smile "Sorry, but we're wondering how we're going to sort food."

I laugh looking over at Donna where she collapsed on the sofa and refused to move "We were just talking about that. The people that own this place told me I can borrow their pick up tomorrow to go in and get some supplies, D and I thought we'd go in the morning. As for tonight, the pizza place is open till midnight and they do deliver out here. If you want to go do a money collection I'll put an order in. And I'm sorry, but I've forgotten your name already."

She laughs, shaking her head her long dark curls brushing over her shoulders "Bonnie, and don't worry, no one got offended when you said you wouldn't remember names straight away, I don't think any of us will for a couple of days."

Donna snickers "Don't count on it. S won't finally remember everyone's names till the day before we're due to go home."

Poking my tongue out at her I sigh "You're probably right. Anyway Bonnie. There are 30 of us, if I order 10 pizzas?"

Watching her mouth fall open is almost funny but when she realises I'm counting 20 Sons she nods "Maybe 15 to be safe? That place we stopped for lunch was shit."

I laugh nodding "Okay, 15 it is." She leaves while I pick up my cell phone and make the phone call to order food. The stammered reply when I order 15 pizza's makes me giggle again, adding sides of breadsticks, fries and bottles of soft drink I quietly recite my card number when asked.

Bonnie arrives back 10 minutes later "I got $15 from each of them. Is that enough? And I told them all that we'll be doing a collection tomorrow for groceries."

I nod "Yep more than enough. I've paid for the whole lot already, it's the only way they'd accept the order. It's gonna take about 45 minutes though."

"I'll let them know."

After Bonnie leaves Donna sighs "Are we insane?"

"Probably, why this time?" I reply, turning to look at her.

"We've just travelled through four states, and into a fifth for a rally that none of us had heard about?"

Opie plonks down onto the couch beside her shaking his head "Nah Don, we'd all heard about it but no one had the organisation to arrange it all till now."

Happy's voice echoes through the open door of his room "Yeah Cupcake's almost as bad as Gem for organisational skills."

Blowing a raspberry towards his door I smirk "Someone wants to sleep outside?"

"Oh hell no, in fact I think you're gonna have to find someone to feed me, I ain't getting off this bed in a hurry."

I wink over at Donna, leaning into Jax's chest as he settles on the sofa beside me "Cam's not here to feed you, I think you'll have to do it yourself. How is she?"

Happy snorts "She hates LA, misses Ma and Charming already. Though she didn't wanna admit it. And stop grinning woman!"

I bite my lips in an attempt to stop smiling, lasting all of 10 seconds before I shake my head "Sorry Hap but I can't."

The pizza's arrive 5 minutes before the 45 minute time is up and watching the delivery guy open the back of his car and start passing the boxes out is funny, it's just as funny watching the Sons diving into the slices like they haven't been fed in weeks. Jax takes a second to thank the Pizza Hut driver, slipping him a tip that I don't spot the size of, but judging by the widening eyes must be large before pulling a slice out of the nearest box and biting into it.

It takes less than 30 minutes for the pizzas and all the sides to vanish, some of the guys deciding to go for a night ride through town while the more exhausted ones head for bed.


	41. Chapter 41

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. I'm not going to go into great detail of the rally, cause I've never been to one so I'm going over some highlights, the things I think that Sarah would want to see, and the things they would be dragged to. Sorry updates may be a little erratic at the moment, I'm still having a lot of problems with my health. Off to see the surgeon today, but out of the last four weeks I've been off work three...one would think that would be conductive to writing, but it's not.

Before I know it we're into the last 2 days of the rally. The past days having flown by faster than I would have expected. The midget bowling we'd watched still makes me cringe a little, Happy had insisted that we go and take photos for Tig. The Motodome made both Donna and I shudder when the guy ended up upside down, Opie had commented that he'd like to give it a go which ended abruptly when Donna told him he'd be sleeping outside if he did.

Seeing Lynyrd Skynard, Collective Soul, Alice Cooper, Motley Crue, Florida Georgia Line (which I'd had to make all sorts of promises to get Jax to come with me to), Train and The Pretty Reckless within the time had been a huge experience, each time I'd spotted a concert poster I'd turned my eyes to Jax and dropped my bottom lip till he agreed. All the Sons and wives had joined us at everything apart from FGL and Train, even though only three of them had heard of The Pretty Reckless they'd all been happy when they buckled to my insistence of coming.

With all that we'd still managed to watch Go-Go dancers, truck and tractor pulling, machine gun demos, which ironically Jax, Opie and Happy were the most enthusastic about, a roller derby that we'd ended up at every night to make up for the bikini contest we were taken past every day, which had only stopped on the 3rd to last day when someone asked if Donna and I were entering. Jax and Opie's glares could have melted the person where he stood but both of us shaking our heads emphatically had been good enough.

Jax hadn't even waited till the person was out of ear shot before pulling me to his chest and squeezing me "The only person who gets to see you in anything like that is me. You better not be thinking about something like that."

I snort in laughter "Baby you do realise that we're going to get a pool in the backyard eventually. I'm not going to be swimming in jeans and a t-shirt."

Jax nods "I know one piece suits like they used to wear with the shorts down to the knees are okay."

Donna starts laughing so hard she just about chokes on her breath "Oh Jax, you poor sad fool. I've seen her collection of bathing suits, most of them wouldn't cover more than a singlet."

Jax shudders then grins "You know I'm going to make you model them all for me before you wear them in front of anyone else."

I laugh at him, the expression on his face showing how much he thinks that will fly. Simply nodding and waiting till he goes back to talking to Opie about the Harley merchandise they're looking through I roll my eyes and Donna making her giggle.

Sliding my hand around Jax's back I kiss him lightly on the cheek "D and I are gonna go find coffee, want anything?"

Both of them shake their heads, fully immersed in some conversation that goes completely over my head. Donna and I walk slowly towards the food stalls, passing a few of the people we'd met during our time at the rally, smiling and nodding in greeting it takes us almost 20 minutes to get to the front of the line and order coffees, even though Jax and Opie had shaken their heads we end up getting them drinks as well. Picking our way back towards them they're not where we left them, instead finding them back in front of the stage where the bikini contest is in its 2nd to last day. Handing them their drinks Donna and I both turn around to leave again when Opie catches Donna's arm "Where ya going?"

She shrugs "I have space for maybe one more shirt for myself or something for the kids so I'm going to see if I can find something for them."

Opie nods, letting go of her arm leaning down and pressing a long kiss to her lips instead "Okay, we'll be here when you're done."

Donna and I leave again, both of us sending our eyes skywards as their masculine attention immediately goes back to the women on the stage clad in only bikini's and sky high heels.

Donna pulls me back to the Harley stand that Opie and Jax had been at and with barely a word pulls four of the swimsuits from the racks, passing two to me and keeping two for herself she grins at the guy behind the table taking the sales. Passing over the money she accepts the bag, shoving it into the bottom of the backpack I'd ended up with for the day. Checking the two she's passed me I swap one for another design before paying for them and passing them to her to shove in there as well without asking. As we're walking back towards the area where we'd left the guys I finally ask.

"What was that about?"

Donna snickers "I really have seen your collection of swim suits, those two aren't anything different then you've already got, however I haven't brought a new suit since the kids were a year old, I figured it was time."

I nod, following her back to the guys, who are clapping along with everyone else at the person who's been named the winner for the day, to move on to tomorrow and the last day of the rally.

"We ready to go?" Donna asks as she slips her way into Opie's arms with a smile.

Both of them nod, Jax dropping his arm around my neck "Did you sort out dinner tonight?"

I nod "Yes, we're using the last of the stuff we brought for tonight, Bonnie, Nancy and Rochelle, Kate & Stella are doing the cooking tonight. Then tomorrow I've booked for all of us to go to one of the places in town that Marty, the guy at reception, told us about. Apparently the 30 of us is half their capacity."

Jax laughs dragging me towards where the bikes were parked in a long row "And I bet you told them we'd be there all night too?"

I shake my head "Nope, but I did warn them that we'll probably be there for at least a couple of hours. Marty said they do the best Mexican food this side of Mexico."

Opie shakes his head "Nah, I'm pretty sure that you'd do the best S."

I hug him tightly "Thanks for that Ope, but Mexican never was something I did well. Italian, French, good old fashioned American I can do in my sleep. Something about Mexican food always stumped me."

Opie stops in his tracks looking down at me "You mean you're admitting defeat?"

I snort "Hardly, I'm admitting that I don't do it anywhere near as well as other people."

Jax laughs, grabbing my hand and tugging me to his side "Let's get outta here, before the masses."

All 30 of us end up around the huge fire pit that night, the burgers and hot dogs for dinner had used up the last of the supplies we'd brought apart from the bacon for breakfast the following morning which unfortunately D, Abby, Dani and I had ended up with cooking duty for. It's nearing midnight when the discussion turns to if we were going to repeat the trip the following year, for some reason everyone had turned to me and I'd thrown my hands up in the air laughing.

"Why am I getting asked? I didn't do much."

Scott, one of the patches from Moab laughs loudly, the sound echoing through the tree enclosed area "Didn't do much, you organised accommodation here, and on the way, co-ordinated 9 Charters, including your own. Not to mention the food, booze, events, parking."

Billy, the other patch from Moab raises his glass "Here here."

Suddenly everyone's cheers-ing me and thanking me for everything I did. Looking helplessly at Jax I try and find a break to let them know it actually only took me less than two hours to sort everything but Jax just shakes his head, leaning down to my ear "Enjoy it babe. Especially once the good reports come back to Clay and he decides that it should be a bigger event next year."

I sigh, nodding against his cheek, accepting the fact that if Clay does decide that it means that it'll be more work for me to organise, but between Al, Cherry, Lyla, D and I, plus Cam who will be moving to Charming at the end of her contract. She just hasn't admitted it to herself yet.

Donna squeezes my shoulder as she passes heading towards the cabin "8 to start breakfast?"

I nod, getting to my feet to follow her, leaning down to kiss Jax on the cheek lightly before we go. The sound of people moving behind us, the clunk of another log being put on the fire and chinking of bottles being passed around drift through the relative quiet. Turning to close the door behind us I giggle when I realise all the Old Ladies that made the trip have used our escape to leave themselves, the guys have moved the chairs closer to the fire and are settling in for at least another beer each by the looks of it.

Donna shakes her head, laughing "I guess we're going to be doing this again next year?"

I sigh, leaning against the door for a second "Certainly seems like it."

The last day of the rally starts the same as the rest of them; Donna and I are up early to make breakfast, Dani and Abby meeting us in the kitchen a little before 8. The multiple packs of bacon look funny coming out of the fridge until you start to think that we're cooking for 30 people. Using four entire loaves of bread in one meal, half plain and half toasted and 4 dozen eggs which are scrambled in one enormous pot. When everything is cooked the four of us fill plates for ourselves, leaving everything in the kitchen and ringing the huge bell hanging over the door that we'd made use of since our first meal. The cabin doors start creaking open while we all vanish again, taking our breakfasts back towards our beds.

Jax is propped up against the headboard when I come back in, a grin on his face and his phone at his ear "Yes Ma, she just came in. Do you want to talk to her?"

Jax holds his phone out to me and takes the plate from my hand while I slide back under the blankets. "Morning Gem." I say as Jax starts constructing two sandwiches on the plate.

"Morning baby, how are things?" Gemma sounds brightly awake for 8am on a Wednesday morning.

"I'm good, missing Abel, Doj, and all you guys, but this has been amazing." I reply, watching as Jax lifts one of the bacon and egg sandwiches he's made to his mouth, taking a huge bite and grinning at me around his food.

"I'm pretty sure Abel misses you too. Al's been bringing Doj to the compound every day while she's been working on those tattoos. I gotta say I'm impressed with her work."

I just about choke on thin air, Gemma doesn't give out compliments often, and regarding tattoo's while she's seen possibly hundreds she's never complimented any that I'm aware of, apart from the one for JT that covers Jax's forearm.

Gemma snickers in my sudden silence "I know exactly what you're thinking but that girl has those guys working to do what she wants before she even picks up the ink containers. You neglected to mention that that guy Terry was in love with her."

I shrug "Doesn't matter, she never liked him as more than a client. They aren't friends. She inks him and takes his money and refuses to go on dates with him. They've never had more than a business relationship."

"I know. You can tell looking at her when he follows her around that she wishes he'd leave her alone." Gemma says slowly "Personally I think Juice will be very glad when they all leave. Do you know when that is?"

"I think Al told me they were there till two days after we got back, so the 14th? The rally finishes today but we're staying tonight as well, then we'll be in Salt Lake tomorrow night and home the night after. I can't wait to be back in my own bed and see Abely." I say softly, suddenly realising how much I miss him.

Gemma laughs again "I get that, it's hard no matter how old they are."

I look over at Jax where he's just putting the last bite of his breakfast into his mouth, the smile he shoots at me making me smile back unconsciously "We'll be home the day after tomorrow, but I don't think we'll be anywhere near the lot the night we come back. We'll see you Sunday if you wanna bring Abel home then?"

"Sure thing. I'll won't bring him as soon as he wakes up so you don't have to get up too early, I'm sure you've been having late nights while you've been there."

I snort "Yeah you could say that. It's been 1 or 2 am before we get to sleep then awake again at 8 for breakfast."

"Well how bout we meet at Lumpy's for breakfast, say 9am?" Gemma asks. "As long as there's no more surprises."

I laugh, slapping Jax's hand away from my part of the breakfast with a frown "No, no more surprises. We'll see you at 9 on Sunday?"

"Sounds like a plan. Have a good last couple of nights." Gemma says, disconnecting the phone call.

Jax waits till I've passed his phone back to him and started eating my breakfast "So we're here tonight as well?"

Chewing while I nod I swallow before answering "Yeah, I decided to wait an extra night when I booked us in to let the bulk of the traffic leave tonight. That way also we don't have to leave until we want to tomorrow. We're booked at the same place in Salt Lake as we were coming up."

"And everything for the trip to New York is ready?" Jax asks, snickering when I scowl at him.

"Ask me when I'm done eating." It takes me 15 minutes to work through my breakfast, eventually pushing the plate towards Jax with a smile "I'm full, help yourself."

The 2 slices of bacon and bit of toast disappear quickly into his hand while I think about all the stuff coming up. "New York is probably ¾ sorted. I still have to confirm with Derek that he's added the extra room so that D and Ope have the kids with them and we have a room for us and Abel, but other than that and making sure Charlotte has everything sorted for the trial its okay. I have to double check that my car guy has the updated list of what's on the floor for when we're there at the beginning of next month but that's all till they start the reroofing of Sweets next month."

Jax nods pulling me to his side "That's enough. I want you to slow down a bit more babe. I know you have since you came home but I still think you're rushing through everything."

I start to shake my head then think over everything that's happened since I came back to Charming only 3 months back before sighing quietly. "Okay, I'll give. But you know that everything will settle down when the trial is over and the businesses are running."

Jax lifts an eyebrow "You hope."

I nod "Yeah, I hope. But the Irish transition is proving to be harder than you guys thought as well, and while I think about it, how is BV doing?"

Jax grins hugely, the webcam house had become his, Opie and Juice's pet project, every second he wasn't with me or at TM, he was at the house, knocking out walls, directing tradesmen and interviewing the girls Luann had suggested.

"It's good, it's all due to be finished in October. We've got 4 girls hired to be on staff from the beginning of October so they'll start moving all their stuff then. We're still looking for another 2 full time, and a couple to come in on weekends." Jax runs his hand over his face "We took your suggestion too."

"Which one?" I arch an eyebrow as there's a soft knock on the door "Come in, we're decent."

Donna snickers "Hardly." Jax and I sit up a little more, making space on the end of the bed for them to sit.

"We put up walls around the back half of the garage to make a 'dead space'. There are no cameras in there at all. None in the garage itself either."

Opie snorts "The girls were surprised when we told them what we were doing with that part. One of the ones that's moving over from another similar place said that she's never heard of it before."

Jax squeezes my hand "It's been good having you as a 'consultant' on all of this, that's what we've called you when discussing your ideas."

Donna looks between us, frowning slightly "What are you talking about?"

"The web house." Opie says, patting her hand "Bella Vista, BV, the porn expansion of the Sons, the cash cow, money maker that your dear best friend suggested the Club get into."

"Ohhh." Donna breaths out "And what's this about a dead space?"

Jax smiles hugely "Well because the whole house is wired for video and some for sound Sarah decided that the girls deserve to be able to at least have breaks. Because they're in the house all day every day under camera, including while they sleep, we've had some long discussions with the four we've already contracted and decided that they get 2 hours per day where they can spend in the camera free space. It's kinda like a break room. The only conditions we put on it is it's in 30 minute stretches."

"And they've been reminded that they can't bring in anything that gives away where the house is. Nothing related to California is able to come into the house. The off camera space will have a newspaper, and internet access for them to do what they want away from the cameras." Opie finishes "But it'll also have a phone so they can call their families, it's been separately run in."

My eyes widen "So what's still to be done?"

Jax shrugs "Wall linings, painting, carpets, the kitchen refit most of it is stuff salvaged from our old one. All the plumbing is done, the wiring is done, the cameras are all ready to be put up when the walls are done."

Looking over at Donna I leave Opie and Jax talking about the further stuff they still have to sort out "Can you let everyone know not to be in a hurry to pack, we're not due to check out till tomorrow morning."

Donna frowns again and I giggle, leaning forward and pressing down between her eyes "You'll get wrinkles. I booked us to stay here tonight as well so we miss the bulk of the traffic leaving today when the rally is done."

Donna nods "Okay. Opie, come help me tell everyone while these two get dressed." She glances over her shoulder at me "And we better collect those envelopes for Madam Muck over there who keeps forgetting to get her money back seeing we're in Sturgis where she was going to get it."

Jax frowns deeply at me and I shrug "Honestly I remember at the stupidest times when everyone is in different places or when I'm in bed." Jax cocks his head to the side, still frowning while I slide out of bed grumbling about Donna interfering, "It truly was on my list of things to do tonight baby." I say, tossing the clothes on the bed that I'd washed the day before.


	42. Chapter 42

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Our final days in Sturgis go exactly as I would have expected. Everyone spends the last hours of the rally saying goodbye to those people they'd met and became friends with, visiting the events which have almost finished, the stalls which are in the process of packing up and checking bikes for the return trip.

The Mexican dinner is perfect, the restaurant had one huge room which we'd been shown to and the whole night the margarita's had been flowing. At one point Jax and Opie had shared a long look before disappearing to see the manager, returning with matching smiles and informing the whole table that there were 2 taxi's booked for the women who had already passed the point of safely being pillion passengers.

Returning to the cabins via a bottle shop for a few dozen beers we'd burnt the last of the wood we'd collected, and the paper and cardboard rubbish that had been hanging around the area. The plastic and glass very carefully put in the recycling bins provided. The Old Ladies from San Bernadino and Indian Hills had told the rest of us that they would take care of the clean-up in the morning after one of them had unearthed the makings of S'mores and proceeded to make a huge mess of chocolate, marshmallow and biscuits.

The feeling around the camping ground in the morning is a little subdued, the owners of the place had come early to let us know that they'd be most happy for our bookings if we wanted to come back the next year. I'd started to shake my head but the nodding of almost everyone there had me sighing and telling them I'd get back to them.

The first leg of the ride back to California is almost 11 hours, which with stops has us arriving in Salt Lake just after 9pm, waving goodbyes to the people who lived in town the ones carrying on the ride had reached the hotel and just gone straight to bed, arranging to meet up at the I-Hop down the road at 8am the following morning for breakfast before the last part of the trip.

Pulling into our driveway at home at 8pm both Jax and I sigh hugely as he opens the garage and walks his bike quietly between the two 4x4's. The door opens into the house and Al peers out "I told Juice I heard a bike. We weren't expecting you till later."

I snort as Doj pushes his way past her, bounding to my side and shoving his nose under my hand "I'd make some comment about leaving again but the truth is I'm too fucken tired to."

Al laughs crossing to my side and grabbing the bag off my back, waiting while I stretch and roll my back, my spine popping in several places "How bout you come inside, have a drink and a bath. Juice and I can take off whenever you're ready."

Shaking his head tiredly Jax drops the stand on his bike and gets up "Bath yes, drink fuck yes. You guys can stay tonight as well but I don't wanna hear anything." Leaning over he starts to undo the straps of the saddlebag, groaning when his back bends.

Al lifts her eyebrow "Jax let Juice get that for ya okay. He's been drinking your beer this whole time so he owes you."

I almost giggle at the frown that crosses Jax's expression but as he runs his hand tiredly over his face he shrugs "As long as there's enough for me to have one or two I don't give a fuck right now."

Al steps back so we can walk through the door with a chuckle "There is enough for that do you want to eat anything? We got Chinese and there's heaps left."

I look over my shoulder and nod with a small smile "I'll come help. Can you get Juice to bring those saddle bags to the laundry?"

Al nods handing me the backpack and heading down the hall with Jax to the games room while I walk slowly through the house, Doj trailing behind me with dancing pawsteps. Dropping the bag on the washer I lean against it for a second to take my boots off, letting them fall to the floor with a clonking noise. Unzipping the top of the bag I shake my head, muttering to myself "Fuck it, I'll do it tomorrow."

Leaving the bag on the machine I follow the sound of the fridge being opened and things being set on the bench. Al sets down four different boxes before leaning in and pulling out a fifth laughing at my stunned look.

"We've been eating good most of the time you've been away. Those meals in the freezer were a god send." Al snickers, dishing noodles and rice onto two plates, topping them with chicken and beef by the looks of it, before tucking two wontons on the side of each plate and popping the first one in the microwave. "Before you ask, we stayed out of you room despite my wanting to try your bathtub I didn't submit. The lawn guys came but I think Jax already knew that?"

I nod silently, picking a loose piece of cold chicken out of the cashew chicken in front of me and dropping it in my mouth while Al pours me a glass of wine, walking round my kitchen like she's truly at home. "The garage is almost done to. Elliot came in day before yesterday to let us know that it'll be done Thursday, the door guys are due to come on Monday next week for the new doors for the other garage."

I hold up my hand smiling at her "Jax is sorting both those things and Elliot spoke to him before we left Sturgis."

Al nods, swapping the plates over and starting the microwave again "How was it?"

I grin at her "It was amazing, I mean I know that anyone who knows MC's would have recognised the details on the bikes leaving the Kuttes in Salt Lake was perfect. The guys got to have almost 2 whole weeks just being themselves, there was no MC bullshit. Ironically though, if they had worn their patches they wouldn't have been allowed in. Turns out Sturgis puts on a 'no gang patch' law during the rally to stop inter-club shit from firing up."

Al purses her lips "What'd you do?"

I shrug "We went to midget bowling, a roller derby, motordome, tattoo competitions, bikini competitions, live music, did some shopping; Jax ordered some ridiculous thing from Harley Davidson which should be arriving next week but he 'had to have it' and I wasn't gonna argue."

"What was it?" Al asks as the microwave stops for a second time and she grabs the plate, utensils and follows me towards the games room.

"Oh before I tell you that he had this brilliant idea that we should go to the Harley museum on the way back from New York." I shake my head slightly in wonder.

"That sounds like it'd be fun. Why'd you veto it?" Al asks, pushing the door open.

"The museum is in Wisconsin." I state "At least an extra 2 days driving."

"So we'll talk to Cam and see if we can use the plane to do a day trip over?" Al states, rolling her eyes. "We're going to be gone for ages and you know that Derek will never say no to Cam, unless he has to."

Jax looks over at me and grins "See I told you we'd find a way. Just get Hap to ask Cam and it'll be fine."

I roll my eyes, sitting down next to him with my plate while Al hands him the other one and both of us forks "I'll ask Cam to _ask_ Derek if we can use the plane for a day trip once the trial is over."

Jax grins, shoving a forkful of noodles into his mouth, not realising how hot they are. Watching him choke them down and then half a bottle of beer makes me giggle a little till he turns his eyes on mine, the pouting look he gives me has me sighing and leaning forward to kiss him lightly "You okay baby?"

Jax nods, blowing on his next bite before putting it in his mouth and chewing slowly.

Al clears her throat "So he ordered something from Harley Davidson?"

Jax smiles, his cheeks full of food and a light in his eyes, nodding furiously I hold up my hand to stop him from talking "He ordered more than one thing. He ordered a piggy bank for Abel a shot glass display case for in here, along with a whole lot of shot glasses to fill it and salt and pepper shakers. But the outrageous thing he ordered was four bar stools for in here."

Jax swallows his mouthful "I also ordered a wine rack thing for you with glasses and a variety of pint glasses, and mugs and 10 bottle openers in 2 different styles to be mounted around the room."

I look over at him "I didn't know that."

Jax shrugs "You were looking at the travel mugs and shit when I saw it. The guy I ordered all the stuff from looked kinda impressed."

"Why?" I finally start eating my dinner now that the torrents of steam have stopped drifting towards my face.

"Cause I took a leaf from your book babe." Jax says with a grin, lifting his fork again "I didn't look at the prices, just picked what I wanted and signed the thing at the end."

My mouth drops open but the look on Juice's face is the one that makes me start snickering. "Congratulations baby, you finally learnt."

Jax pokes his tongue out at me, sticking his fork into the depleted pile of food on his plate while I turn back to my dinner, listening as Juice, Jax and Al talk quietly.

Once we're both finished eating Jax pulls me to my feet, waving over his shoulder as we leave the room, dropping the dirty dishes in the dishwasher he pushes me slowly up the stairs, understanding completely why it takes us almost a full 90 seconds to get to the top. Opening our bedroom door he kicks off his shoes and carefully places his kutte on the back of the rocking chair we'd ended up moving into the corner of our room.

Leading the way into the bathroom the first thing I do is turn on the taps over the tub, the water cascading into it. "That'll take at least 20 minutes to fill."

Jax nods, stripping his clothes off and dropping them into the hamper till he's standing in just his boxers "Does the shower work while the bath's filling?"

I shrug "I don't know baby, why?"

"Cause I'd rather wash the road grime off then soak in it." He says with a snicker as he turns around and adjusts the controls for the shower. The bath splutters a tiny bit as the added strain on the water comes through but nothing seems to go wrong and Jax ends up under the spray as the bath is reaching ¼ full.

While he washing the road dust and God only knows how many dead bugs off himself I add some bath salts to the tub and shed my own clothes, sliding in behind him.

Jax turns around, dropping his arms over my shoulders and leaning down to kiss me lightly "I'm glad we did this."

I nod, stepping between his feet and pressing close to his chest "Me too. But I'm glad to be home, and that Abel's coming home tomorrow."

Jax nods, his lips brushing my forehead "So one last night of peace?"

I giggle as he finishes washing his body "Yeah you could say that." I mutter as he opens the door and steps out, leaving me to wash the gritty feeling off my skin and out of my hair.


	43. Chapter 43

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Another time jump. One more of these and then we're at the trial. Goodness, it seems a long time coming doesn't it?

A week later we're back to normalcy as much as we can. Jax's ordered things had arrived four days after we got home and I'd gone back to filling my days with looking after Abel and Doj, baking for the guys and ordering things for the stores, new display racks, cabinets and a couple of new freezers are already ordered with their delivery dates for the beginning of September. Lyla and I had arranged for a day to sit down and start ordering stock for the store after I'd set up trading accounts with several of the manufactures of my favourite brands of clothes, something that had proved a mixed bag of ease.

Abel grizzles in my arms and I look down "Sorry bubby." Sticking the bottle in his mouth that I hadn't realised had drifted away while I'd been lost in my thoughts. Lifting one of his hands he grabs hold of the bottle, his tiny fingers folding over mine and gripping tightly.

The wrap party coming up that night was something I'd both been dreading and looking forward to in equal measures. Lyla's final movie had just finished and the party tonight was a combination of wrap and retirement for the porn star who'd had a meteoric rise in the 2 years she'd been working in movies for Luann. It being her final movie had me happy and excited for the party, but the fact it was back at Caracara and we were again going to be surrounded by half-naked porn stars had my nerves a little frayed. Jax's assurances that we didn't have to go had been appreciated even though I knew if he didn't show that he'd get shit from his brothers, and be called pussy whipped.

Abel finishes his bottle and I lift him over my shoulder to burp him while watching Doj dancing around the back yard chasing birds and butterflies. The complete silence around the house is a little unnerving but getting to my feet I head towards the living room where there's still a basket of mail and a small stack of presents that I haven't opened since we got back. Putting Abel down in his rocker beside the pile I sit on the floor and cross my legs, looking at the wrapping papered items or the boring mail.

Smiling over at Abel as he's batting at the things that hang from the bar over his head I giggle and lift the first of the presents off the pile. "Let's go with pretty first, then boring huh baby."

Abel coos in response and I take that as him agreeing with me. Most of the things we'd been given were envelopes containing cash I'm sure but they're still also waiting to be opened. Each of the presents seems to be from some of the friends of the club that were invited or 'my' girls.

A little over 20 minutes later I'm surrounded by photo frames in various sizes and collage sets in different make-ups from the girls; which I love, a huge antique silver cutlery service that had come from Gemma with a note that it had been given to her grandparents on their wedding day then her when they had found out she got married to JT, a matching set of four crystal vases which Derek and Trish had sent, amongst those are some oddity presents that I'm not sure will ever see the light of day, including a salt and pepper shaker set and napkin rings made in the shape of parts of the human anatomy. The idea of sliding napkins into holders topped with vaginas makes me cringe and I toss the whole lot of them, penis shakers included back into the box to hide somewhere.

Abel's drifted off to sleep while I've been ripping paper and checking for cards to write thank you notes so I push the pile of paper to one side and start on the basket. Sorting it first into 'junk', 'bills' 'fliers', 'wedding' and 'questionable' piles. A knock on the door distracts me but before I can get up Doj has barked at the door and startled Abel awake.

Climbing to my feet I scoop Abel out of the rocker, carrying him towards the door where Doj is now sitting on the floor, his tail sweeping along the ground.

Opening the door I slowly rock the grizzling baby "Hi Elliot, come in."

Elliot laughs as Doj sticks his nose into his hand "Some guard dog."

I shrug nonchalantly as I walk towards the kitchen "He's met you before, you knocked and I let you in. Be a different story if I didn't let you in and he'd never met you before. Or if I told him different."

Elliot pulls one of the chairs away from the table and sits down, putting his briefcase down "What do you mean?"

Working to put the coffee machine on one handed I glance over my shoulder "He knows commands, just not in English." I snicker slightly "The behaviourist thought it was a brilliant idea teaching him some things in foreign languages."

Elliot tilts his head to the side as he pulls a pile of papers from his now open briefcase "I can see the logic, that way only you know the commands to make him do certain things?" I nod in agreement and he snickers "Does Jax know the commands?"

I shake my head, a wicked grin on my face "Oh hell no, I'm saving them for if he's needs a night in the dog box. Speaking of that, would you like to have a look around now that we're all moved in and unpacked?"

Elliot nods "I'd love it, but let's get this stuff done first?"

I pick up the two cups of coffee I'd made and carry them to the table, setting them between us and adjusting Abel on my other arm before sitting down "So what's up?"

90 minutes later Elliot has left, another check for a machinery upgrade tucked into his pocket, thankfully this one was only 50 thousand total price, Abel is asleep and I'm sitting back in front of the piles of envelopes which I've moved to the table in the kitchen along with my laptop.

Working through the bills I punch all the details into the banking program and send the payments off for the electricity, phone, internet and cable TV. Patrick's latest bill is paid at the same time, along with the progress payment to the people making the new booths for Sweet and Savoury.

One of the 'questionable' envelopes ends up being the quote for the reroofing and I push that to the side to ring about, the wiring quote for Gary is also in that pile and that gets put in the same pile, mainly so I remember to ring him and let him know when the roofing will be done. Most of the questionable pile ends up being moved to the junk pile to be tossed along with the fliers. The bills all paid I turn my attention to the stack of envelopes that Gemma had tied together with one of the purple ribbons from the wedding.

Between the 30 odd envelopes 10 minutes later I'm just finishing counting the money; leaning back I rub my hand over my face and frown lightly.

"What's up babe?"

"Holy fuck!" I jump to my feet, my chair skidding across the tiles when Jax's voice sounds inches from my ear. Clasping my hand over my racing heart he reaches towards me but I hold up a hand "Give me a sec."

Doj comes running into the room, hair on his back sticking straight up till he sees Jax when his tail starts wagging furiously. Sitting back down while Jax pats the dogs back till his hair is lying flat again I let my heart rate return to normal before turning around on my seat.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but how come your home early?"

"Clay and Ma both said that seeing we're leaving soon I should come home and make sure everything is done here. Juice and Ope got the same order. They tried with Hap but he told them it wouldn't work cause the clubhouse is his home at the moment." Jax says, pulling a beer from the fridge and popping it open. "How is his house going?" He asks, after swallowing a couple of mouthfuls of the bubbly liquid.

I shrug "Don't know."

Jax nods, opening the fridge again and peering inside "What's for lunch?"

I laugh, getting to my feet as a little squeak comes from the monitor "Tell you what, you get Abel and I'll make food."

Jax grins, setting his bottle down and heading out the door "Sounds like a plan."

Waiting till I know he's halfway up the stairs I call "And don't forget to change his diaper."

The grumbly acknowledgement reaches my ears making me smirk at Doj. "That'll teach him for scaring me aye buddy."


	44. Chapter 44

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Jax reappears with Abel just as I'm finishing putting together a chicken salad and slicing some bread. Putting him in his high chair Jax leans down and kisses his forehead lightly. Passing the plates to Jax I carry over the small bowl with a bit of food for Abel to try today. Jax wrinkles his nose at the look of it but I shrug "It's pureed carrots, Abel loves them."

Jax snorts "And the green shit?"

"Peas." I reply, doing a bib up around Abel's neck before dipping the spoon in the carrots first waiting while Abel opens his mouth for it. "He's had carrots before, peas are new."

The green spoonful is spat back out and dribbles down his chin "Guess he doesn't like them." I giggle, going back to the orange mush. By the time I'm finished feeding Abel there's orange everywhere and Jax is looking slightly revolted.

Leaving Abel to finger paint in what's left on the board of the high chair I cross and wash my hands so I can eat my own food "Did you get everything done at the garage?" I ask, before biting into the sandwich I'd put together.

Jax nods "Yeah, Ma's been pretty good about staggering everything at the moment. All our clients know that we're a little short staffed but Brian and Paul are due to arrive back this afternoon."

The two members of the Fresno charter that agreed to come help while I took four of the SAMCRO members to New York made me a bit more at ease. That Gemma had reiterated over and over that they were fine for work force had been the last thing to make me relax.

"What were you doing when I came in?" Jax asks, gesturing towards the piles of opened envelopes and the cash still sitting on the table.

Swallowing hard I put my sandwich down "I finally got around to opening the presents. That's all the cash we got."

Jax's eyes widen, taking in the stacks of bills on the table "But that's like 30 grand?"

I nod "I know." Picking up my food I take another bite, chewing and swallowing "Two envelopes had 5 grand in each. I think one was from Clay and Gem though I don't know about the other."

Jax shrugs "I do. It would have been the Irish."

I sigh in realisation "That explains the band."

"Huh?"

"The band that was around it, it's that one there." I gesture with my elbow to the bundle at the top, the thick white rubber band embossed with green clovers.

Jax chuckles and picks it up "So what do you want to do with all this? Safety deposit or safe?"

"Safe." I reply watching Jax gather it all up in one hand. "You remember the combination?"

Jax rolls his eyes "Babe, it's my birthday and your birthday how could I not. Granted you muddled the numbers all up but I'm pretty sure I can remember it."

I poke my tongue out at him and turn back to my lunch "Okay, then you put it away I'm gonna eat this and then give Abely a bath. He's all orange."

Abel's been laughing and clapping while we've been talking, the small splatters of orange flicking off his hand landing on his clothes. Jax looks out the window "What actually needs to be done before we go?"

I shrug, dropping the last bite of my sandwich into my mouth I think while I chew, waiting till I've swallowed I push my plate away "Lawns need to be mowed, need to check the fridge for stuff that will go off, Doj is going to stay with Gem while we're gone so we need to make sure that she's got enough food for him, and his stand but we can't take them over till we take him as well. I need to mop the floors in here again, clean the bathrooms and run the hoover through the whole house, and I still need to pack."

Jax blinks at me blankly for a few second "You mean you're taking clothes with you?"

I get to my feet, taking the plates to the sink and rinsing them before putting them in the dishwasher and turn back to him "Yes I am. I don't have any intentions of going shopping at all." I know I sound angry and defensive when Jax leans back in his seat a little startled.

"Babe I didn't mean anything by that." Jax gets up and comes towards me, his expression staying slightly stunned when I shake my head at him rapidly. Holding up his hands he backs back to the table and sits back down. Rubbing his hand over his face the kitchen is completely silent for a few seconds, even Abel quiet like he can read the tension. Jax looks back up and him, his eyes locking on mine. The silence thickens while I stand against the bench just watching Jax with a blank look.

Getting to his feet again he crosses the kitchen slowly, his hands resting on my hips "I'm sorry. I didn't think."

I snort "No shit." Resting my hands on his chest I push lightly, not to move him at all just to show my displeasure at his unthoughtful comment.

Jax leans down and nuzzles his nose into my neck "Forgive me?"

Pulling backwards till he lifts his head and looks at me I lift an eyebrow "What am I forgiving you for?"

"Being an idiot. Forgetting that there is a bigger reason for this trip then wardrobe expansion. Not thinking before I spoke. Any of them." Jax says softly, looking down at me "Mainly for being a jackass though and not considering that you're stressed and not realising that trying to make a stupid joke wouldn't help."

I nod once, linking one hand around his neck and pull his head down "It's nothing that needs forgiveness. It's not your fault I'm tense and forget to say so."

Jax shrugs, his eyes lit with concern "But I knew you were stressed out and tense and made a stupid joke."

I giggle "How bout we both stop trying to take the blame and you help me clean up our orange baby?"

Jax looks over his shoulder at Abel and grimaces "Can't I just have you mad at me for a little bit and let you do it yourself? He's all gooey."

Smirking to myself I pull out of his arms and shrug "Your choice." Walking through into the laundry I strip off my clothes and pull on the old t-shirt that I've kept specifically for bathing Abel. The shirt barely hits my mid-thighs and is so soft that the neckline droops to the top of my sternum. Jax's eyes widen as I come towards the high-chair and he takes a few breaths in.

"Can I change my mind?"

I nod "Of course you can baby." Undoing the straps on the chair and lifting Abel out, the reasoning behind the change of clothes becomes obvious when Abel grips the front of my shirt with orange hands, leaving smears on the material.

Jax follows me up the stairs "Can you bring his bath through?"

Jax disappears into Abel's room, coming into the bathroom a minute later with the plastic bath insert "Where do you want it?"

Rolling my eyes I gesture towards the bathtub "In there." I'd already started the water running and mixed to the right temperature. "Just stick the nozzle in and one pump from the bright green bottle."

Jax does the easy jobs while I lay Abel down on the bathmat and work him out of his clothes; the removal of the smeared cloth leaves more orange goo on his skin.

The bath is as messy as it always is, by the time I lift Abel out and put him in the towel Jax is holding I'm completely saturated. The shirt I'd put on is sticking to my skin and there are tendrils of my hair almost glued to my arms. There are smears of orange on my face and arms.

Jax takes one look at me and bursts into laughter. Glaring at him I lift the end of the bath, watching as the water drains out of the tub and down the plug. Jax hoists Abel up a little higher in his arms "How bout I go dry and dress him while you go shower yourself?"

I nod, getting back to my feet and kissing him on the cheek "Thanks baby. Then I'll start packing."

Jax shakes his head "Wrap party tonight. Pack tomorrow."

I frown "I can start packing tonight and still be at the party. It's only like 130. Party won't start till at least 8pm. Won't be interesting till at least 9pm." I walk through into the bathroom leaving Jax to do Abel's after bath routine; we'd done it together often enough that he should remember it all.


	45. Chapter 45

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Shortly after 8pm Neeta pulls into the drive, Donna and Opie had come over with their kids so that we could all get ready together and I'd made the suggestion that they could stay so there was no transporting sleeping children later. Ellie and Kenny had almost been bouncing in excitement at getting to sleep in 'their' room at Aunty Sarah and Uncle Jax's house.

Once the kids were situated in front of the TV with a movie playing Donna and I had gone up the stairs to sort out clothing, Donna saying she didn't have any shoes and was going to use a pair of mine, which I'd just nodded and laughed as I flicked through the hangers holding my corsets.

Jax had appeared in the door as I moved one, the pout on his face making me giggle "What's wrong baby?"

"I thought I'd get a preview of some of them."

Donna snorted behind me where she was looking at some of my shoes. "If you ask later I'm sure she'll agree. S, I'm borrowing these."

I nod looking over my shoulder at the heels she's holding. "Okay, take some flats too."

Donna pokes her tongue out at me and points at the black ballet flats she's wearing "I'll leave these in the car." Disappearing out the door she pushes it closed behind me calling that she'll be ready to leave in 30 minutes.

Looking at my watch I nod at the closed door and look over at Jax "We have to take a car, which one?"

Jax strips off his clothes, finally heading towards the shower "I'll talk to Ope, may as well leave the bikes here that way only one person has to stay sober enough to drive."

I giggle already knowing that Donna will pick the driving, she's been taking all opportunities to drive different cars since we came back from Sturgis, getting the feel of other cars to see what sort she wants.

25 minutes later the four of us are gathered downstairs and sure enough Donna puts up her hand for the drive home, she looks nothing like the responsible Mom she really is, the green corset she'd brought with a pair of skin tight leggings dotted with gold studs and my heavily studded black peep toe heels.

Walking out to the car we end up in the Nitro, Donna getting the final choice of cars. Jax gets in the driver's seat to drive over there, on the way I lean against Donna's shoulder and grumble about Cam and her not being back yet. Donna laughs at me, patting my arm and reminding me that she's flying back into town in 2 days, which does make me happier but not by much with the trial looming suddenly so close I feel like I could breathe out and my exhalation would touch it.

Jax backs the Nitro into a park right outside the doors, between Luann's car and Lyla's relatively new Toyota, smirking at me he gestures towards one of Luann's girls and says quietly "I'm thinking someone was unimpressed at having to give up this park."

I snort as he puts the car in park "Even though it's marked as being for the 'assistant director' which was the label Lu used for you guys?"

Jax nods, waiting till I reach his side and slinging him arm around my neck "Not my problem. Ma has a park somewhere here just for her and if you'd believe it it's labelled as 'directors PA'. Like she would do anything to do with porn."

Reaching up I adjust one of the ribbons on the front of my corset and shrug "I guess it means that Gem can come whenever she wants and be guaranteed a car park which keeps Lu happy."

Jax's attention is firmly fixed on the ribbon that I'm tightening, his eyes lit with lust and humour "If I pull that little string will that whole thing come undone?"

I lift one of the tails of the red ribbon and hold it towards him "You mean this one?"

He nods and I snicker lightly "No. All that will happen is it'll come undone. Did you not notice it took D and I 10 minutes to get this sorted?"

Jax shakes his head "Nah, I was kinda busy making sure Neeta was sorted in the living room with the TV and she knew which room she was in tonight."

"The only way to get this off is the ribbon on the back, then under that are some hook and eyes to keep it closed as well." I tell him slipping my hand into his back pocket as we reach the door, the tell-tale sound of porn and voices reaching our ears.

I've matched the black and red corset with the plaid skirt I was wearing the first night that Jax and I got together and a pair of red shoes covered in black spikes. Al bounces to our side not long after we walk in the door, in truth we're barely 10 steps into the room when she appears, a glass of yellow liquid in her hand, the bubbles on the side giving away she's on tequila, but diluting it slightly with lemonade. The white skirt, black sparkly singlet and black and white shoes she's wearing make her look completely comfortable and the way she's happily chatting to me as we make our way towards the bar I can tell she's had a few drinks already.

Lyla waves from her position centre row of a bunch of director's style chairs, the bright blue dress she's wearing matching the stiletto's on her feet almost perfectly.

Luann reaches us at the same time we arrive at the bar, leaning into Jax's side she grins "The bonfire's all set."

Jax chuckles and grins hugely looking down at me "In about an hour or two we're gonna have a bonfire. Lyla's burning some of her porn stuff." He says in explanation.

I shrug, turning my attention to the bar and putting in the request for drinks for Jax, Opie, Donna and myself, the four glasses appearing in front of me almost instantly. Jax and I carry the drinks towards Opie and Donna, Opie's standing rather uncomfortably right behind Lyla and when we reach them he pulls the beer from Jax's hand, kisses Donna on the cheek and wanders off, him and Jax heading towards Chibs in one corner. Perching on the chair next to Lyla I start to giggle when I realise what had Ope so upset.

Donna lifts an eyebrow at me and I wave my hand towards Lyla "Ope got a view he wasn't expecting I think."

Lyla looks down, her cheeks flushing slightly when she realises the top of her dress has draped in such a way that anyone standing behind her could see straight down it. Grumbling about double sided tape that failed she readjusts everything so she's covered before smiling apologetically at Donna "Tell him I'm sorry."

Donna giggles and looks over at her husband "He'll be fine."

Donna leans against the back of my chair for a few seconds before Cherry and Al appear in front of us with glasses and huge smiles.

Cherry's eyes are darting all around the room "This is..." Her voice trails off when she notices one of the huge screens playing a montage of stills from Lyla's movies.

Lyla looks over her shoulder and chuckles "Porn. This is Porn."

Cherry laughs "Yeah, but it's not what I expected either."

Cocking her head to the side Donna takes a small sip of her OJ "What did you expect?"

Cherry shrugs "I guess I expected video of naked people going at it everywhere, more half naked women around and I certainly didn't expect people in suits."

Lyla laughs again "The suits are some of the distributors from around the country. Luann wanted them to come to this and give them the news first hand that she won't be using them after the end of the year." Cherry nods, obviously completely at a loss to what Lyla means "Lu's moving out of paying other people to distribute her movies. Apparently someone came to her with a brilliant idea of distributing herself and putting packages together."

I smile hugely at the fact my idea's been passed on and obviously given the green light, porn expansion means more legitimate money for the club. Lyla laughs at the way I bounce in my seat in excitement "Yeah, Luann was much the same when it was floated to her, she wanted to get started right away, hence the warehouse expansion that's starting next month. Thank god I'm done here." Lyla sighs "How's the businesses going?"

I shrug "Rewiring can't be done till roofing is finished, we've ordered a whole lot of stuff as you know with delayed delivery dates. It's all a waiting game now."


	46. Chapter 46

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Thanks again for the concern regarding my health. I've had another couple of attacks bad enough that I ended up sick from work, one where I ended up hospitalised again, but I'm holding on till the 19th for my surgery then 2 weeks off. Hopefully I'll be able to get a WHOLE LOT of writing done during those two weeks . I've started writing bits for the trial chapters which are proving to be very hard on me, both in terms of details (having never been in a court room) and Sarah having to relive her memories, and face her fears.

About 90 minutes after we arrived Luann turns off the TV's and whistles loud enough to make Tig look slightly jealous.

"If I can have your attention for just a moment, you can all go back to the free food and drink when I'm done. This is both the party to wrap Sorority Sisters 4 and to celebrate Lyla's retirement. Well you all celebrate; I'm losing a great star. Anyway, Lyla, you're work over the 2 years with me has been incredible, I'm sad to see you go but onwards and upwards. And those that would like to come outside shortly we're going to light the pile in the back that everyone keeps asking about." Turning the movie back on Luann steps off the tiny stage and picks up another glass of whiskey, working her way slowly towards the office as she sips at the drink.

Jax appears at my side, a beer in one hand and shot glass in the other, from the inside pocket of his kutte I can see he's conned the bar tender into giving him a bottle of bourbon. "You coming outside Darlin'?"

I nod, hopping to my feet and swaying for a second as I regain my balance. Looking down at my glass I frown before looking at Donna "Hey D, how many drinks have I had?"

Donna giggles "About 5."

Passing the glass to her I grimace "Water now only please. Don't let me say otherwise."

Donna nods, dropping the glass on a passing tray and following us outside, snagging a couple of water bottles from the table of bottled drinks as she passes.

It's obvious to me, even in my intoxicated state, when we get outside that it's more than just Lyla's porn stuff that's being burnt, while I can see several posters from the almost 2 dozen movies she's made there's also some odd shapes that take a second for my brain to work out. Turning to Jax I narrow my eyes "Why does it look like some of your old furniture is over there?"

Jax chuckles, resting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me till I lean on his chest "Babe, that's cause there is. The bed that you wanted to burn is there."

I look over my shoulder "What else? I can see the bits of the bed base."

Jax kisses my forehead lightly before turning me around so my back is against his front "The bed base is there, we couldn't burn the mattress that got dumped by Miles and Ope this morning. There are a few other furniture bits, like the bedside table that Tara engraved her fucken name on, that we didn't know till Al and Juice went to rearrange the room for their new bed. And there's some of the clothes that she brought me."

I lean back against his shoulder "You know you didn't have to baby. I was fine with it when we moved and I didn't have to sleep in the same place she did."

Jax shrugs, my head moving slightly against his arm "I know I didn't, but Al and Donna wanted to, and I wasn't gonna argue. Besides, Juice brought some huge bed for them, something about Al liking wrought iron and roses."

I smile "What happened to Al's bed though?"

Al's voice comes from the other side of Jax "It's in the spare room. Double just wasn't big enough, Juice is like a bloody octopus when he sleeps. I'm sure the second he falls asleep he sprouts 10 more arms and 8 more legs."

"Hey!" Juice sounds like he doesn't know if he should be offended or laughing, settling on laughing he tugs Al's arm lightly "I may become octo-man, but you're a blanket hog."

I laugh at them and the pure normalness of their argument, my smile so huge it makes my cheeks hurt a little.

Al jabs her finger in my side "Stop that."

I shake my head "Nope."

Luann comes through the door behind us with Lyla in tow; almost everyone else has already come outside. Miles is following Lyla holding something that looks like a branch, the top of it wrapped in dark material. Jax smirks at the young prospect as the three of them reach our side; holding out a hand Miles immediately puts one in Jax's hand.

Jax pulls his lighter from his pocket and passes the 'torch' to me waiting while Lyla is handed the other one. Flicking his lighter he twitches an eyebrow at me as he lifts it to the top of the torch, igniting the top of it before leaning over and lighting the one Lyla's holding as well. When I stretch my arm towards him to hand it to him he lifts his hand and shakes his head, gesturing for me to follow Lyla.

Lyla had watched our quiet exchange while standing a step away from me and leans over to grab my hand, pulling me forwards, her voice low when she speaks so that no one else can hear "Jax wanted to do this for you."

I frown slightly, but mimic her actions, tossing the entire thing I'm holding onto the pile before backing away quiet rapidly as the pile starts burning. Sliding back under Jax's arm I curl into his side.

"Why did you do this?" I ask softly, watching the flames eat parts of Jax's history.

Jax shrugs "Cause I could, and I wanted to." Jax kisses my temple "I know I didn't need to before you say anything but it's done."

I shrug "Okay."

Jax's eyes widen fractionally "You're not going to argue?"

I shake my head laughing "Nope, not at all."

Jax lifts his hand and brushes it over my head chuckling at my glare as he asks me if I'm feeling okay.

Lifting my bottle of water out of his hand I pick at the lid for a second "I'm fine. I get why you're doing this, even though you don't need to."

Jax nods, kissing me again then lifting his head to look at the flames licking through Lyla's posters and his bed base. The heat being put out by the pile of stuff is intense, after a few minutes most of the people go back inside till it ends up with just me and Jax, Donna, Opie, Lyla, Miles, Al and Juice outside watching the flames as they symbolically incinerate Lyla's past as a porn star, opening the future to her working retail for me. I internally snort at the huge drop in money that she's bound to be looking at, but her finances aren't really my problem I remind myself, looking over at her where she's laughing at something Miles is whispering in her ear.

Jax follows my gaze and then looks down at me "You've done this all you know."

"What?" I ask, wiggling as close to him as I can, even with the warmth from the fire in a short skirt and corset the evening air is cold on my back.

"This." Jax waves his arm around "Not Caracara obviously, but the distribution was your idea, the web house was your idea, you've brought your friends to town and gave Juice his other half, you inspired Cherry and Lyla both to go after what they wanted which made the guys happy. You coming back made us whole again, it made us better than whole."

Turning in his arms I lift my empty hand to cup his cheek "You okay baby?"

Jax nods, squeezing me close to his chest and kissing the top of my head "Yeah I'm fine Darlin', I have you here, what more do I need?"

I snort and giggle running my thumb across his cheek once before turning around again and looking back into the flames.


	47. Chapter 47

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. The last 1/3 of this chapter is X-Rated!

Stumbling in the door a little after 3am Donna helplessly tries to hush both Opie and Jax while I lean against the wall laughing at their decision to go play poker, the need to 'christen' Jax's table had been decided as we were leaving Caracara.

Neeta appears at the top of the stairs and plants her hands on her hips "If you lot wake up those babies I will not be getting them back to sleep."

The laughter freezes in my throat and I nod "Certainly Ma'am. Sorry Ma'am."

Donna closes the door and relocks it while Neeta snickers at me "Don't call me Ma'am."

"Sorry sir." I reply with a short giggle.

Neeta narrows her eyes and shakes her head turning around and heading back towards the guest room "Ma'am, Sir. My name's Neeta. Or she who must be feared if y'all wake those children." She mutters to herself as she walks away.

Donna ushers us all into the games room, closing the door behind us before exhaling in relief and smiling at me hugely "I really do appreciate the thought of sound proofing more now."

I grin at her wickedly "So you're getting your room soundproofed?"

Donna blushes and Opie nods enthusiastically from his position where he's already behind the bar, popping tops off two beer bottles. Donna picks up the two water bottles he sets down and passes one to me with a smirk "Okay, so I got convinced that sound proofing our room is a good idea."

Jax snickers, leaning against the bar "No details thanks D, I think we all remember what you used to be like."

Donna's face flushes bright red again while we all laugh "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

Opie lifts an eyebrow as he sits down "Really, maybe I should remind you then."

Jax and I both shake our heads "Please no! I don't think my poor brain could handle hearing Donna screaming again." I mutter, leaning my head into the crook of Jax's neck.

Jax runs his hand over my back, tugging lightly at the ribbon that trails down my back "Ditto babe." Turning to his best friend he shakes his head "Plus I'm not sure that bed could stand up to whatever it was."

The laugh that comes out of Opie fills the whole room with sound and makes me glad again that the area is soundproofed. "Are we playing cards?" Opie says with a grin.

I shake my head "I'm not. There is no way I could keep track of anything at the moment."

Donna agrees with me and the guys both pout "Poker with two doesn't work." Opie says "Pool instead?"

Jax nods leading the way to the pool table where the typical trash talking starts the second the balls are racked and bets are made. Donna and I make our way to the chairs and end up curling into two of the lazy boys.

I'm not sure which one of us it is that falls asleep first but somehow among the games of pool that the guys play Donna and I both end up going to sleep in the chairs. Jax shakes me awake crouching in front of me while Opie's back blocks my view of Donna.

"Time for bed babe. We didn't realise how long we were playing." Jax says, standing up and pulling me to my feet.

Looking over at the clock I groan when the fact it's almost 5am registers to my exhausted brain. "You know Abel's going to be up in an hour?" I ask, even my own words sound slurred with how tired I am.

"I know babe. Neeta came in about half an hour ago and said she'd stay till after lunch. That's when we realised the time." Jax follows me up the stairs, chuckling as I sway from banister to wall each footstep very uncertain. Turning towards the master bedroom I giggle at Opie who's given up on Donna walking and instead he's carrying her swung over his shoulder.

Jax moves to close the door, sticking his head out "Don't break our furniture."

Opie laughs, the sound cut off as Jax closes our door. Jax turns around just as I fall face first onto the bed.

"Aren't you going to get undressed?" He asks the humour evident in his voice.

Shaking my head against the pillow he moves to the bed and pulls my shoes off my feet "Babe I'm not sure about getting this corset off you, you're gonna have to help."

Reaching behind myself I pull the ribbon at the bottom feeling the whole back loosening slightly, the hook and eyes holding it together. Rolling over with a groan I undo the three ribbons on the front sitting up I undo the tie around my neck and pull the whole thing over my shoulders and off. Blinking my eyes open I snort at Jax's expression.

"Thought you said the ribbon wouldn't make it come off?" He pouts at me.

"One of them won't, all four of them do." Falling back onto the bed I undo the buckle on the side of my skirt and kick it off, laughing when it lands on Jax's head.

Jax shakes his head, letting the skirt fall to the floor in a pile of lace and buckles. "So you lied to me?"

Shaking my head again I shuffle up the bed, shoving the blankets down with my feet "I didn't lie, I just manipulated the truth so you wouldn't try and undress me in the middle of the Caracara parking lot. You seem to have missed that I'm naked now though."

Jax grins as he sheds his kutte, hanging it on the back of the door, his button up shirt and singlet following it. He stops at the end of the bed, kicking his shoes off and unbuckling his belt. Looking back up at me he pauses "Enjoying yourself?"

I nod, my eyes drifting over his chest "I am. But feel free to continue."

Jax smirks at me, stepping backward towards the bathroom "I'll be back."

Rolling my eyes I stop myself from groaning as he closes the door behind him, instead getting off the bed and picking up his shirts, dropping them in the hamper. "Don't forget to empty your pockets." I call through the bathroom door; Jax's laugh the only reply I get.

Curling under the blankets I hear the shower start, knowing that one of the drunken porn stars had tipped whiskey over Jax's lap at one stage I'm not surprised he wants to wash away the stickiness. The facial expression when I'd threatened to rip off her arms if she tried to dry her 'accident' had been comical to everyone apart from her.

By the time the bed moves I'm right on the verge of sleep, Jax running his fingers down my spine wakes me enough to turn over and curl into his side. Pressing my fingers to his side he shudders "Fuck babe, your fingers are freezing."

I giggle, my brain waking up a little more "So I shouldn't touch anything that suffers from shrinkage."

Jax laughs, cupping his hand over mine and rubbing my fingers "Definitely not."

Wiggling my fingers against his side he shudders as the cold patches of my fingers brush against his warm skin. "Okay then, I'll keep my hands away from all _delicate_ parts."

Jax snorts, rolling me onto my back and covering my body with his "Delicate?" Lifting his hands off mine he drags his fingertips down my arm "I'll show you delicate."

Laughing at the serious look on his face he shakes his head leaning closer to me and pressing his lips against mine, whispering "Do you think I'm joking." against my lips before he literally possesses my mouth, the force behind his kiss stealing my breath and making my heart jump into my throat.

The feeling of his hands roaming over my arms and sides starts a smouldering feeling of desire in the pit of my stomach, the caressing of his tongue against mine stokes it into low flames but when his blunt fingernail scratches over the spot on my neck where I know his name is inked the heat inside me explodes into an inferno that melts my brain. Wiggling my fingers as much as I can between our bodies the flat of my palms traces over his smooth chest till the now warmed digits are free.

Curling one of my hands around his neck I pull him closer while running my other hand down his side and around his back. Resting my palm on the tensing muscles in his back he twitches when my fingers brush his spine. Smirking against his lips I brush the very tips of my fingers against the same small indentation in his spine that makes his back twitch again. Pulling a fraction of an inch back he scowls at me before pulling my arm above my head and pinning my wrist down with his hand.

The concern in his eyes as he realises what he's done melts into liquid need when in response I lean up and nip at his bottom lip, my teeth barely missing the soft skin of his mouth. The fingers of the hand around his neck tighten pulling his mouth back to mine. It's like a burst of oxygen in my blood when he kisses me again, my eyes flutter closed but the smell of Jax completely surrounding me keeps my mind focused on him, the feel of his hand on my skin, never staying in one place for long enough for my skin to become desensitized to the feeling of his rough fingertips tracing patterns over my body.

Rolling us over again so we're on our sides we both inhale rapid gasping breaths while I shimmy around in the bed, pulling my black lace thong down my legs and flicking it towards the laundry hamper in the corner.

Jax laughs when something clatters showing I completely missed my target but stutters to a stop when deliberately ghost my fingers down his chest, brushing lightly across his nipples before following his happy trail down to his erection, his breath catches when I wrap my fingers around it and slide my hand up slowly. "Laugh again." I whisper between us, our lips brushing.

Shaking his head he lifts his hand to my shoulder and pulls me over him, my hair falling around us in a dark cloud, encasing us in our own little bubble.

Jax lifts his hand up, gathering all my hair in his hand and twisting it around till it wraps around his wrist. Using this as leverage he pulls my head closer, our lips joining heatedly again.

Feeling the heat inside my body reaching an almost critical point I manoeuvre my body till the tip of his cock slides between my lower lips, the parting of my flesh surrounding him, making him groan lightly against my lips. Grinning into our kiss I wiggle down, the hardness of his length filling me the heat surrounding him making his breath catch as I pull back with a gasp, biting my lower lip between my teeth.

Jax flexes his hips under me, my entire body moving with the small motion. Looking down at him I watch the muscles in his chest and stomach flexing, on arm relaxed down at his side while the other hand clenches around my hair, his knuckles turning white with each tightening. A thought flashes through my brain wondering if I'll ever get tired of being with him like this, the simple twitch of one of his thighs which adjusts my body over him makes me almost laugh out loud at the absurdity of it but my teeth still in my lip stop the sound before it parts my body.

Jax looks up at me with a lifted eyebrow, shaking my head at him I lean closer to his body so I can kiss him again, my mind losing itself in the feeling of his hands on my skin and his lips against my mouth.

The feeling of his hips moving, meeting each thrust of mine and our bodies forming a slick layer of sweat between our skin registers but is buried in a lower portion of my brain, most of my brain function is devoted to the feeling of my body tightening around him, the muscles clenching in a completely uncontrollable way. Each of my toes curls towards the soles of my feet while my fingers tighten, one hand gripping my pillow, the tips of the others curling over Jax's shoulder. Feeling his arm lift up and wrap around me holding me closer to his body shows that he's just as effected by our closeness as I am. The first stirrings of release start in the pit of my stomach where it feels like my body temperature has shot up by over a dozen degrees, my internal muscles tightening without my consent around him as his grip tightens around me, the strength in his arm holding me glued to his chest.

Pulling my mouth away from his I suck in the cool air from around us, while his mouth automatically fixes to my neck, the light sensation of his teeth touching my pulse sending me catapulting into a release so intense that I feel my fingernails tear through my pillowcase.

Jax's entire body stills under me as his own release follows mine. Collapsing against his chest I try not to cringe when our sweat soaked skin meets. Jax lightly kisses the top of my head while my heart rate returns to normal and we both catch our breaths.

Moving sideways the first thing I discover is the perfect tear in my pillowcase when my head hits it and my ear gets caught "Fuck." I mutter, lifting my head up and turning the pillow over.

"You okay babe?"

I start laughing "No. I ripped my pillow case."

"What?" Jax twists his head to look at me "You did what?"

Lifting my head I pull the offending pillow out and show him "I ripped my pillowcase."

Jax laughs, sticking his finger into the hole in the cotton "How did you manage that."

Shrugging I drop it back down and put my head back down "You're just that good baby. Now let me sleep."

Jax chuckles lightly, rolling onto his side and curling around me, his arm coming across my waist so he can link his fingers with mine "Sure thing Darlin'."


	48. Chapter 48

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Another time jump (only 3 days though.) Sorry, posted wrong version!

Waking up the morning of our assessment with the social worker my nerves already feel slightly frayed, knowing that whoever it is that's coming today will be the final person who decides if I get to legally become Abel's mother is terrifying. That it could be someone who hates the Sons on principal has been in the back of my mind since the day we filed the paperwork but not having put it into words to Jax or any of the three other people who know (Donna, Opie and Happy) had me snapping at everyone last night while Jax tried to explain my short temper as being anxious about the trial. Thankfully everyone had believed him.

Jax reaches over and slaps the alarm clock so that it's shrill ringing stops, the sound seeming to echo in my ears for a second "You feeling better babe?"

Shaking my head I curl into his side, resting my head on his shoulder "Not really."

"So tell me." Jax says, running his hand over his face slowly as his brain wakes up "I know that I told everyone you're stressed about the trial, which I know you are, but this is more than that. You've been jumpy over everything the last coupla days."

I sigh deeply closing my eyes for a second "I know and I am sorry for being a right pain in the ass."

Jax laughs, reaching his arm down my back and tapping the top of my behind "I like your ass not in pain, but what's up?"

Opening my eyes again I look straight into the concerned depths of his and my mouth opens, word vomit spilling without my control "I am nervous about the trial, I'm nervous that I'm not going to be able to convince anyone that I haven't seen Craig since I left New York, I'm worried that they're going to know that I had something to do with him disappearing and that they'll find out that he's dead and it's my fault." Jax opens his mouth but I talk right over whatever he was going to say "I'm worried that Ope and D's house won't be finished in time, I'm worried that D won't find a car she loves at the lot and will settle for something she thinks she should have. I'm scared my businesses will bomb before I even get them open; I'm concerned that BV will fail and the club would have poured huge amounts of money into a dead end project. I'm dreading clearing out the barn and what I'll find which will open old wounds. I'm worried about LOAN and how they seem to have fallen off the radar completely, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm worried about Hap finding a house for him and his Mom, and Maria's health. I'm stressing about today."

Jax takes a few deep breaths and squeezes me close to his side "Shall I go through them in order?" He chuckles and my glare "The trial will happen how it's meant to. You'll be fine, you're not the one being prosecuted for anything and you have _nothing_ to hide. Your ex died because he was an oxygen thief who needed to be exterminated like a bug. It was not your fault, nothing that happened to him was your fault, it was all his. Ope and D will be absolutely fine too babe. Their house is due to be done in November and if it doesn't happen it doesn't matter. Juice and Al aren't in a huge hurry to move out of the clubhouse yet, even though they've already started buying and setting up stuff. D will find a car she loves and if she doesn't Ope won't buy her something. By now I'm sure we all know when she's lying about something, right?" He pauses while I nod.

Taking another pause he leans over and kisses me lightly "Your businesses will be fine, Ma already told me heaps of people have been asking when they're going to be open and what's going in them. She knows about the ice cream store but she's upset that she knows nothing about what you're doing with the other space. She'd like to be able to talk up what it's going to be."

I chuckle and make a mental note to tell her what it will be, once today is over with that is.

"Right, next on your list. Bella Vista is not going to fail, the base page has been up for a week and it's already had over 10 thousand hits according to Juice, linking it to the distributors page was a stroke of brilliance. Pre-registrations are sitting around 1,000 so don't worry about that, it's already paying back some of what we've used." Jax waits till I nod before continuing "As for the barn of stuff, I'll help D, Ope, Hap, Lyla, Cherry, Al, Cam, Ma, Clay. We're all going to be there to help if you need us. Just open your pretty mouth and ask." I nod again, kissing his shoulder as he eliminates my worry list one by one.

"LOAN, we know they're still around. They're currently trying to set up shop in Oakland. It's not going down well with Laroy, but he's dealing with it as he does."

I giggle knowing Laroy from the few times I've met him dealing with it probably means bloodshed and explosions.

Jax sighs "Right, the last two things. Happy was going tell you himself last night but you were in a shitty mood. He found a house and put an offer on it. He's due to hear back this week."

I smile up at Jax "Really?"

Jax nods "Yeah, and before you ask, it's three blocks away. That blue place that you always said would be pretty if it wasn't so bright."

I shudder, the house is so blue it's almost glow in the dark. "He does plan on painting it doesn't he?"

Jax nods "Yes Darlin' he does. Maria has already picked out paint colours. She couldn't come to look at it so Ma went with Hap and took a whole lot of photos of it all. And last thing. What's happening today?"

I widen my eyes, hoping he's joking but seeing the complete blank look I sigh, lifting my head and banging it on his shoulder a couple of times.

"Sarah, don't do that. What's happening today that I've apparently forgotten?"

I roll out of his embrace and sit on the edge of the bed for a second. Getting to my feet and walking towards the bathroom I turn around as I reach the door "The adoption assessment."

Stepping through the door I close it behind me as Jax slaps himself in the forehead "Fuck!"

It's not till I'm rinsing conditioner out of my hair that Jax comes through the door frowning, holding Abel in his arms. "He needs a bath."

Turning the water down I push the door open and hold my arms out "Give him to me; I'll wash him in here."

Jax passes Abel over, carefully staying out of the splashing water. Turning around I put his back under the water, smiling at the stunned look on his face as the splashes bounce around us.

"Babe I'm sorry I forgot about the assessment today." Jax says, hoisting himself onto the counter between the sinks.

I shrug lightly as I start rubbing Abel's back "Can I have some of his bath stuff; it's in the middle cupboard."

Jax brings over the blue bottle, returning to his position while I carefully rub the baby soap over Abel's skin. "It doesn't matter they're not assessing you. You're Daddy regardless of what happens today." My attention is so focused on Abel that when Jax's arms slide around my waist I jump a little, Abel's body slipping in my arms a fraction of an inch.

Jax's voice is heavy with a huge range of emotions when he whispers beside my ear "It doesn't matter what happens today you _are_ his Mommy. You will _always_ be his Mommy."

I sigh slightly, leaning back into his arms "I know that. But without today going the way I want it to I'll be Step-Mommy. I know I'll never be his real mother, that won't happen without some sort of way to erase Wendy."

Jax tightens his arms around me, laughing as Abel grabs his fingers as tight as he can. "Babe it doesn't matter what a piece of paper says it doesn't matter what the world says. As long as you, me and Abel know that you're his Mom that's all that matters. And you're not gonna find a single person who's opinion will matter to him as much as ours."

I laugh at him, shaking my head "Until he discovers girls, then what we say will be boring and old fuddy duddy shit."

Rinsing all the baby bubbles off Abel I turn around and pass his slippery body to Jax, taking a few minutes to wash myself before stepping out and grabbing a towel. Wrapping a huge spa sized towel around a 4 month old baby who weighs less than 15 pounds makes me laugh, but with all his baby towels either in the laundry or still in his room I decide that's easier than tracking water through the house.

It's not till I'm walking towards the door that Jax notices I'm leaving the room "Darlin' I need to tell you something."

Turning around I prop Abel on my hip "What? And why don't I like the sound of that?"

"You're not gonna. I can't be here today." Jax says, looking at me through the glass wall of the shower.

Dropping my head forward so he can't see the disappointment on my face I shrug again, lifting Abel up and kissing him "Doesn't matter. I'll be fine."

Leaving him in the shower I take Abel and go straight to his room, picking out clothes and dropping them onto the changing table.

He's dried and dressed before I go back to our room, finding Jax now sitting on the edge of the bed in nothing but his jeans. Patting the bed beside him he waits till I sit down before lifting Abel out of my arms and sitting him on his knee. "You know normally I'd change everything I could do be here but without telling Ma or Clay why I need to be here it won't fly, not with how much stuff me, Juice, Hap and Ope have to get through before leaving for at least 2 weeks tomorrow."

I nod silently looking down at the carpet.

Jax reaches over and grabs my chin moving my head till I'm looking at him "Darlin' I know you're upset. I am too, but without blowing the secret that we've managed to keep so far I don't have a choice."

I sigh, standing up and retrieving clothes from the wardrobe. Coming back to the bed I drop them beside him, his t-shirt and button up in one hand "I know that. Really I do but I can't help but be a bit disappointed."

Jax grabs my hand, smiling at Abel when he grabs my hand too "I know you are, so I am. Will you be okay without me?"

I nod, pulling my underwear up my legs and doing my bra up as Jax sighs in disappointment. "I'll be fine baby. I'll tell you what happens every step of the way, and if the assessment doesn't go to plan we may have a body to bury."

Jax laughs "You mean another one?"

Nodding he gets up and sets Abel on the bed where he wiggles around till he's on his stomach, rolling over was a recent development and I'm pretty sure the first time he did it I almost fell over with happiness. Hugging me tightly he runs his hands over my back, stopping over the clasps of my bra till I lean back "If you undo that then you won't get breakfast before you have to leave."

Jax groans "Okay, I'll leave it alone. For now."

Throwing his shirts over his arm he picks Abel up and takes him out of the room "I'll go get the monster fed and Abel in his high chair."

As soon as he starts down the stairs Doj is off the couch on the landing and following him rapidly.


	49. Chapter 49

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Woohoo 101 reviews for this on FFN. Thank you to all that have taken the time to let me know what they think.

Coming down the stairs a few minutes later I'm surprised to find Jax and Donna both sitting at the table, a stack of the muffins I made yesterday in front of them which Jax has obviously already demolished a couple judging by the crumbs in front of him, Donna has a bowl in front of her, the proof of Abel's breakfast of Apples round his mouth, a bottle in the warmer on the bench.

"Morning sunshine." She says with a huge smile, "I brought coffee."

"Thanks D." I say picking up the only cup on the bench and carrying it to the table.

I've barely sat down when Jax gets up, kissing the top of Abel's head, crouching beside my chair he rests his hand on my leg "If I go now I should be home early. What time does Cam arrive?"

"The plane lands at 6, but Hap's picking her up. We're set to take off again at 6am tomorrow morning."

Jax groans and Donna laughs at him "I'm all packed. Are you?"

Jax shrugs "Dunno, ask her." Kissing me on the forehead he stands back up and heads towards the door, the sound of his bike starting a couple of minutes later before fading into background noise.

Donna waits till I've eaten half the muffin and drunk most of my coffee before she hands me the paper that she had flattened under her hands on the table "Page 4."

Frowning I open to the page and the first thing I see is a picture of Jax and I standing under the arch at the Wahewa reservation, Opie and Donna on either side of us and the Chief right in the middle.

"What the hell!?" I look up at Donna as she shrugs.

"Don't know." Her cheeks flush lightly giving away that she does know.

"D, you've never been able to lie to me. Please don't start now. What happened, who did this?"

Donna sits down across from me and rests her hands on the table "Gemma."

I sigh "Of course. But why?"

Donna chuckles lightly "Well a copy, or 20, of that paper may have made it to the hospital where someone is doing their internship. Read the article."

The headline alone makes me giggle.

'A Happily Ever After 10 Years in the Making.

It's unusual seeing the leather clad bikers that are a staple around Charming in a field full of flowers, the smell of roses and tulips hanging in the air but that's the exact situation that was found on July 30th at the Wahewa reservation when long-time resident Jackson Teller stood in front of a crowd of Sons in a ceremony with his girlfriend Sarah Hale (Niece of Jacob Hale Senior).

The pair had already married recently in an out of state wedding witnessed by only the pairs closest friends, even Teller's mother and step-father were not at the ceremony. The bride was quoted as saying that the out of state wedding was 'entirely Jax's fault' though no further explanation was given.

Its obvious looking at Sarah and Jackson that they are deeply in love, having been friends from the age of 12 and 14 respectively, the emotions between the pair light the entire area leaving everyone they speak to smiling widely and offering heartfelt congratulations. Curled into Sarah's arms during the receiving line is Jax's young son. Abel Teller (born to Teller's deceased wife Wendy Case) had a rough start to his life but it seems that the love that is showered on him by his step-mother and extended family is doing great things for the young boy who spent the entire reception in the arms of one of his parents, his grandmother or Donna Winston the brides best friend. The protectiveness shown by all regarding Abel is obvious, each of the people who are given his care are checked on multiple times by other family members, blood related or not.

It seems that 10 years of friendship certainly does make a solid beginning, the pair have already purchased and renovated a large home and are currently renovating two businesses in town.

We here at the Charming Gazette wish the pair all the best for the future.'

Looking back up at Donna I shake my head "Who the hell wrote that?"

Donna shrugs "I don't know, but I do know that the second Gemma saw it she brought a whole lot of copies and shipped them to Chicago."

I shake my head "Why?"

"Cause I wanted that tart to know that there's nothing more here for her and if she shows up again." Gemma's voice comes from behind me; crossing to the still full coffee pot she pours a cup then comes and sits beside me at the table "I had nothing to do with the article being written, or published. I don't know who wrote it, I'm not sure why they didn't put a by-line on it. However I did take advantage of it being there. There's also a copy framed in the clubhouse now. That was Clay's idea."

I shrug, there's no need for me to be upset about something that has already happened "I know that Tara's never coming back, and if she does then Jax and I will deal with it. Whatever delusions she may have that she can worm her way back into his life will be shattered, and if she doesn't listen then I'll just put plan B into action."

"Plan B?" Gemma lifts an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yep. Plan B, copies of the footage of her fucking up my car will be sent to every single hospital within California and the paperwork for the restraining order that my lawyer has already drawn up will be filed. But I doubt it will happen."

Gemma nods "Just as long as you know that I will protect my family from anything that threatens it. And baby, you are family."

I smile over at her "I know Gem; I just don't see Tara as a threat. Realistically she never was she was just an annoyance."

Gemma laughs, drinking her coffee while she tries to coax Abel into eating a few more mouthfuls of the pureed apple. At one stage he blows a raspberry at her and a big blob of the pale mush flies through the air, landing on the rim of Gemma's coffee cup. Looking down she sighs, setting her cup on the table and wiping it off with her fingers.

"What is this? It's nothing like the stuff I've got at home." She says with a frown.

"That's cause I made it. There's a whole lot on the freezer in ice cube sized amounts. When he wants some I just pull a couple out and defrost them either in the microwave or with some hot water, depending on how much he's drunk." I reply picking up his bowl before it decorates the room.

Donna clears her throat, pointedly looking at the clock "Well I better go, I've gotta go get some laundry done before we leave tomorrow. Opie said the garage was flat out today."

Gemma gets up at the same time as Donna does "It is. I just stopped by to say come to the lot later. We'll have drinks before you go."

I nod "We have to be at the airport in Stockton at 530 so it'll be quick drinks all round."

Gemma hugs me "You have to come, cause you have to pass off that horse masquerading as a dog for me to look after remember. But we'll have a dinner when you're back and this trial bullshit is behind you, okay?"

I nod and Gemma grins "Course, you'll be hosting, and doing all the cooking. My dining table isn't big enough anymore."

I nod again, hiding my grin as she squeezes me again "Take care of that baby, and ring with updates every day."

"I will Gem, promise." I reply, showing them out the door and then hurrying back to the kitchen.

Finishing the muffin while I clean Abel's face off with a damp cloth I empty Gemma's coffee cup and set it in the dishwasher, leaving it off for whatever dishes are used that night. The food for Doj is already in the back of my Nitro to drop off at Gemma's later when I run some last minute errands that can't wait.

Glancing at the clock I almost swear, mainly from nerves, when I realise it's only 45 minutes till the assessor from the courthouse is due. Leaving Abel in his high chair with one of the soft books that makes noise I run upstairs and grab the dirty laundry which I know needs to be done before we go, mainly so I can pack some of the things that haven't been washed yet, not that I've even started packing.

Leaving the suitcases right where Jax sat them inside the wardrobe during the weekend I change my shirt, pulling the singlet off and replacing it with a long sleeved shirt, but pushing the sleeves up to my elbows.

Walking down the stairs I can hear Abel 'talking' away to Doj who barks in response when he stops making noise. Sticking my head through the door I shake it at the sight of Doj licking the bottom of Abel's tray, a few stray pieces of apple having made it there while he ate.

Starting a load of washing I leave the kitchen, taking Abel through to the living room where I put him on one of his puzzle mats to play while I turn my laptop on, flicking through the weekends mail while I wait for it to load.


	50. Chapter 50

CHAPTER FIFTY

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

By the time there's a knock at the door almost an hour later my nerves have turned into irritation. Throwing the door open my scowl falls from my face when I realise that just by who it is in the doorstep I can probably kiss the application goodbye.

"Melissa?" I ask, quietly.

The red head shoots up and almost subconsciously a pale hand lifts and runs over the top of her nose. "Sarah. I'm here to do an assessment for the courts in regards to your application to adopt."

I push the door open wider, thankful for my brief moment of foresight to put the coffee pot back on, and to pull my sleeves down so the only tattoo showing above the pale blue turtleneck is the very top of the 'property of' tattoo on my neck. "Come in. Would you like a coffee?"

Nodding she steps through the door "I'd love one. Where's Abel?" She follows me through to the kitchen.

"He's in here. He didn't eat much breakfast and was hungry." Abel's sitting in his highchair, impatiently waving his arms at the bowl I'd set on the table when the doorbell rang.

Tucking the bib he's wearing properly down in front of him I stop and put a spoonful of food into his mouth. "How do you have your coffee?"

"White, 3 sugars please." I nod, pulling two cups down from the cupboard.

"Take a seat; just I wouldn't suggest either of the two by where Abel is. He's not a neat eater."

"Most young children aren't." She laughs, slightly stiffly and takes a seat at the other end to where I have Abel sat. Pouring coffee in the cups I modify hers, hiding the grimace at the amount of sugar then carry them both to the table.

Sitting down I set Abel's bowl on the table of his highchair and roll my eyes when he shoves his hand in it, lifting his fist to his mouth and sticking his fingers between his lips, only pulling them out when I lift the spoon to his mouth. She puts the papers she's holding down and sighs "I need to apologise to you."

My head shoots up and I know my eyes are wide as saucers at her random words "Why? I should be saying sorry to you, I'm the reason your nose doesn't look the same."

She laughs, completely surprising me "Thank you for that. No, I should be apologising for what I said leading up to that." 

"You were right though, I was the orphan that didn't belong."

Melissa shakes her head "You'd been here almost a year. You did belong though, you still do."

I frown slightly and she gestures around the room "I did some research before coming over here. Part of the job, you'd be surprised what turns up when you mention someone in town. Gary told me the amount of work you've got him doing will keep him in business for months. Heather at the paint shop told me that you made one of the biggest sales in the first 6 months of the year. Mr Salt couldn't stop singing your praises when I ran into him at the market."

I shrug "All I'm doing is trying to build a life."

Melissa leans forwards, her arms resting on the table "I know I can see that by the work done here. I don't know if you knew or not, but this place was Hannah's parents' house before they moved to Stockton."

I shake my head "Didn't know that." I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not, Hannah was her best friend, and one of the other two people whose noses I broke. "You're welcome to look around if you like. I don't think you'll find much of the old house though."

Melissa laughs "Oh I can already see that I won't. They're the ones that covered all the windows in this room. Hannah never understood why. Anyway, back to my point. What happened when we were children is history. I know you're not the same person you were, and I'm not the same person I was."

I smile at her "I'm glad to hear that. On both counts."

Melissa smiles "Now, tell me about Abel." Looking at him she chuckles "But you might want to clean him up."

Switching my gaze to him I groan, while we'd been locked eye-to-eye talking he'd picked up his bowl and dropped it on his head, there's orange globs of food in his pale blonde hair and running down the sides of his face, his fingers have been swiping at it and there are trails going from his cheeks into his mouth.

"Well, as you can see. He likes food, and wearing it too. He was born 10 weeks premature, but he's four months old today. His paediatrician said he could start on solids almost 2 weeks ago; he loves carrots, hates peas. Loves apples, but hates bananas. Unless they're mixed with the apples then he looks like he's in baby heaven." While I've been speaking I've been scooping all the mess off the high chair table back into the bowl and retrieving a warm damp cloth to wash his face.

"He loves baths and had his first shower this morning. Not sure how he liked that, he seemed a bit surprised by it really. He loves my dog, who equally loves him and sleeps outside his room when he's napping, and Doj is most upset about being closed outside at the moment."

Melissa glances up as I walk past the table to empty the bowl, chuckling at Doj who's not his paws resting on the bottom of the door, watching each movement whenI come near the door. Glancing over her shoulder I almost sigh when I realise she's writing in shorthand but bite my bottom lip.

"Okay. How are you going to handle looking after him when you open both stores in town you've purchased?"

I glance over at her and she smiles "Told you, people talk."

"Between Donna and I we have three children so we have a nanny who comes in three days a week to look after the three of them while Donna does some work at TM and the normal household things. I have an arrangement with Gemma that she'll look after him one half-day a week for me and the other days I won't be working. The person I've already employed for when I get the businesses open knows that there will be days I won't be in and I fully trust her. Any other people I employ will be given the same information."

"And you don't find having a baby as a newlywed puts a damper on things? Nice article in the paper by the way."

I pause for a second, knowing she's not trying to upset me. Finishing cleaning Abel up I drop the dirty cloth in the laundry bin and rinse the bowl out, turning the waste disposal on to get rid of the carrot leftovers. "I would have married Jax regardless of if he had 10 children by 10 different women. Abel is not a damper; he's a perfect part of my life that I wouldn't be without."

Melissa smiles softly at me "Sorry if that upset you. I have to ask, there's a few that may be a bit emotional to answer."

I shrug, getting a handle on myself. "I know. Muffin?" Lifting the container holding the last four of the muffins I made I carry it to the table, lifting the lid I push it towards her. "They are orange chocolate chip or vanilla chocolate pudding. I was in a sweet mood when I made them yesterday."

Picking one of the pudding ones she looks surprised "How did you make pudding muffins?"

I shrug "It's more of a cupcake actually. Try it though, I haven't had anyone other than family try them and I don't know how they'll go down."

Melissa breaks it in half, letting out a squeak when the gooey chocolate inside starts oozing. "So that's the pudding?"

I nod "It's a vanilla cupcake that I hollowed the inside out of and filled with chocolate pudding. The icing in vanilla frosting."

Biting into the middle of it I know it'll be a success when her eyes involuntarily close. Chewing and swallowing she looks over at me "That's really good. What brand pudding is it? It's better than the stuff I get."

I laugh "That's cause I made it myself from scratch."

"Right, so I won't be able to buy it."

I shake my head "Nope, but you'll be able to buy them when I get the store open."

She smiles "Great for the taste buds, not so good for the waistline. Now, back to Abel. I'll try and get the possible upsetting questions over fast. How did you deal with Abel's hospitalisation?"

"I went up and saw him as much as I could, but unfortunately it wasn't nearly often enough."

"Mrs Richards from the hospital said you were there almost every day."

"Anne's a lovely woman. I was there every chance I had. Unfortunately during the time he was in the hospital I did have to make a couple of trips out of town."

Melissa nods "And you dealt okay?"

I shake my head "No. I rang the hospital every day while we were away both from New York and San Francisco. I'm not making the mistake of leaving him behind again."

"What does that mean?" Melissa looks up from her page.

"During your research did you happen to put my name in a search engine?"

She shakes her head and I pick at the muffin in front of me "In the interest of complete disclosure in case you now do search me and I get penalised for this I'm going to tell you briefly why I have to return to New York. For a period of 2 months during last year I was held captive by my ex-boyfriend, he was arrested and charged however was released. Tomorrow Abel, Jax and I, along with some others, are flying back to New York for the trial to put him back behind bars, permanently." I pause for a second wondering if I need to give her any more information but decide that that is completely enough.

Her eyes flicker with concern "You're taking a baby to a court case?"

I shake my head "No! Not at all. Abel is coming with us to New York but the two, maybe three, days when I'm in court I have arranged someone to look after him." Trish had opted out of coming to the trial, instead claiming babysitting rights for the time we were going to be locked in the courtroom. Her excuse also covered that she could go shopping for Abel while we were not there to see anything.

Cam had laughed at her during the conference call we'd made one night, till Trish pointed out that until Cam had children she was going to use mine as a surrogate grandchild. That had shut Cam up quicker then I'd ever heard, the echo of her teeth snapping together reaching down the phone lines.

Melissa nods, looking back down at her page "So I'm going to try and work through the rest of these questions real fast if that's okay."

I nod "Can I just run him upstairs first?" I gesture towards Abel who's now blinking sleepily in his high chair.

"Of course. I'll follow you if that's okay so I can see his room."

"Sure." Picking Abel out of the highchair "Fire off the questions if you want."

Melissa goes through a rapid fire lot of questions that I'm sure had been on part of the applications, date of birth for both Jax and I, how long we've been married, prior relationships. As we reach Abel's room she asks me what Jax's family thinks about me adopting Abel and I pause mid-step.

"What? Does Jackson's family not approve?"

I shrug "No one knows. We've been keeping it secret. The only people other than my lawyer, Donna and Opie and Happy Lowman who know are the court officials who have handled the paperwork."

"Who's Happy Lowman?"

"Happy is one of Jax's co-workers and a member of SAMCRO." I say quietly, I know that the connection to the Sons isn't secret; you'd have to be living under a rock to not know that Jax is a member.

"Why haven't you told anyone else?" She asks, and I can hear it's more from curiousness then need to know.

I shrug, tucking Abel into his crib and covering him with the pale blanket "I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up in case it didn't go well." Pulling the cord on the mobile that hangs above his bed the motorcycles start turning as we leave the room. "I just need to get the baby monitor, feel free to look around if you want."

When I come back out of the master bedroom with the monitor now attached to my hip I find her standing in the doorway of the kid's room "This used to be two rooms didn't it?"

I nod "Yeah, we knocked the wall out of the middle to make it one. It's set up for Donna and Opie's twins for when they come stay."

"And the other rooms?"

"They're all set up as spare bedrooms, when we have more kids we'll convert them to children's rooms. Did you see the rest of the upstairs?"

She shakes her head "No, I was stuck here. This used to be Hannah's room, well half of it was."

By the time she's seen the rest of the upstairs she pauses at the door to the master bedroom "You know, we were never allowed in here."

Pushing the door open "Go have a look then. But it doesn't look anything like it used to. We ripped out the walls and replaced them; well we did that right through the whole house. The carpet is new right through the house as well, and the entire bathroom has been replaced."

Melissa takes less than 2 minutes looking around the room before coming back to the door "I didn't realise it was so big."

I laugh "Tell me about it."

Walking back down the stairs we end up in the living room where she starts asking questions again.


	51. Chapter 51

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Over the next two hours we sit in the living room while Melissa quizzes me on a whole lot of things, going through all the basic information that she already knows and filling in some little bits on our personal details we cover family life when both Jax and I were children, having been around I can fill most of it in and Melissa lets me know she'll ring Jax later that night to discuss with him what else she needs.

The medical history is easy, mine being almost completely blank apart from the time I spent in hospital in Maine. Jax's is a little bigger with the hereditary issue he was born with, that thankfully healed itself. Job history, personal interests and hobbies are quickly covered as is our volunteer experiences. Religious beliefs we completely bypass when I snort after Melissa asks me our views.

Reaching the bottom of the last page of questions she looks up "Just another few then we're done. How are you set financially for taking on Abel?"

I lift an eyebrow and she shrugs waiting for me to answer. "I don't have to work if I don't want to. I have enough money in investments to live off the interest for the rest of my life, and then for Abel and his children to live off as well." I state blankly.

"Lucky." Melissa replies with a small smile.

"I guess so; personally I'd rather have my parents alive." I reply. Her eyes drift up and I can read the apology she's about to make before she opens her mouth "Don't apologise. There's nothing I can do about my parents being dead, that their deaths means I can live comfortably for the rest of my life is the only upside about having lost them so young."

Melissa nods "Okay, so how do you feel about adopting Abel?"

I smile "Jax is the person I've wanted to be with my whole life, even when I was 12 I knew he and I would end up together. Abel isn't mine by birth but I will do everything for him that a woman would do for her own baby."

"You do know you don't have to adopt him don't you?" She asks, leaning against the arm of the couch.

"I know. Jax and I talked about it and as I said to him I'm the step-mother, adopting him gives him all the same legal rights as any biological children I have, not that he isn't cared for in my will anyway but this is just another added layer of familial bond."

Melissa nods, writing some mores notes before smiling brightly "Believe it not, this is the last question. What are your plans for the future?"

I scratch my head lightly which makes her chuckle "I know it's a hard one isn't it?"

I nod "I guess my plans for the future revolve so much around the projects I have going at the moment that I haven't thought beyond the immediate. If I have to put it into words then my plans for the future involve raising Abel to be the best person he can, loving my husband, running my businesses as best I can, keeping Charming with local business owners."

"Any plans for more children?" She asks with a smile.

I nod again "I do want to have at least 2, I don't want Abel to be an only child like I was, it's rather lonely at times. I'd like there to be at least a 2 year gap between them though so I have time with Abel before any more come along. Course Jax has no idea."

Melissa smiles, folding her notebook closed and getting to her feet "Thank you. It's a shame that Abel wasn't awake for more of my visit, I may have to make another one in a few weeks but I'll let you know. Will Jax be able to answer those questions if I ring tonight about 6?"

I nod as I stand and start walking towards the door "He should. It's just the childhood life and the rest of his medical history?"

She nods once, pulling the door open and stepping through the gap "Depending on if I need to make a second visit I'll contact you within the next week." She rattles off my cell phone number which I nod in confirmation.

"If you don't get an answer just leave me a message. We're flying tomorrow, then at least two days in court then we're driving back."

"You're brave. Driving back with an infant." Melissa says, going down the stairs.

I follow her towards her car "It's more than an infant. It's an infant, two four year olds, 4 males and 3 other females in three cars."

"You really are brave. Good luck with that and you'll hear from me." Melissa climbs into her aging Toyota, starting the engine and driving out the gap in the fence with a toot.

Leaning against the porch for a second I breathe in deep lungful's of the fresh air taking 5 minutes of peace and quiet before going back inside to start packing.

Between playing with Abel, feeding Doj, and taking him for a walk I manage to get about ½ packed by the time Jax pulls into the drive at 530. Jax finds me upstairs with four suitcases open on the bed, two big ones and two small ones. "Babe, you know you can do laundry."

I roll my eyes at him "During the trip back? Are we going to stop at Laundromats along the way?"

Jax shrugs "You said that you're limiting the driving to 5 hours a day so doesn't that mean even with 8 hours' sleep you've still got 11 hours of the day left?"

I poke my tongue out at him "Yes, we do but you've got to take into account organising three cars, 8 people and 3 children isn't going to be easy. Meals, accommodation, driving duty, and who's going in what cars."

Jax snickers "We'll sort driving a day at a time. Accommodation is up to Cam to sort."

I roll my eyes "Yes and you know she'll just have us picking a place in each town we stay at then booking rooms. Provided that they have four available and are kid friendly. But point taken about the laundry on the way. The small suitcases are for Abel's clothes, cause they're so little they fold into nothing and one to put some toys in, books and his play mat. The big suitcases are for our stuff, and if you think this is bad, wait till you see what D's packed."

Jax shakes his head "I really don't want to know. Ope said it looked like a bomb had gone off in the kids room the other day when she finished. How did the assessment go?"

I shrug, folding one last bib and tucking it into the side of Abel's suitcase before zipping it closed. "I knew the person from the courthouse."

"Really, who was it?"

"Melissa Gantry." I look over at him and the familiarity of the name isn't lost when he tenses.

"Fuck."

I chuckle and shake my head "Surprisingly it went okay. She's going to ring you tonight cause she's got some questions that I couldn't answer about your childhood before I moved here, and medical history. Don't know why she wants to know all that stuff about you though."

Jax shrugs "Don't care, she can ask me anything she wants, as long as it doesn't have anything to do with the club."

Abel's 'toy' suitcase is finished next, folding the playmat onto the top of it I zip it up and set the two suitcases side by side at the door. The blue one holding all his clothes, the purple one with all the toys. The two biggest of my purple suitcases are still left on the bed, random piles of clothes beside them and the garment bag from Sak beside them both.

Jax watches while I walk between the bed and the wardrobe returning with piles of clothes, tossing mine onto one side of the now opened suitcases and his onto the other he keeps one eye on me and one on Abel who's in the rocker that I'd carried through from his room, Doj is lying on the floor between the rocker and the bed, his head on his paws looking sadly at me each time I come back into the room.

"What's with Scooby?" Jax had nicknamed Doj Scooby Doo one morning when we'd been having breakfast and the dog had started talking, something he did as a way of getting breakfast treats (corners of toast and ends of bacon slices).

"He knows we're going away again and he's sad." I reply setting the last pile of clothes to be packed on the bed. The only things to still bring out are the very carefully constructed outfits I'd put together to wear to the courthouse, provided the trial isn't longer than four days but Charlotte had told me she thought 2 would be the most.

Jax laughs, sliding off the bed and crouching beside Doj's head, rubbing his ears "It's okay, we'll come back. And knowing my wife she'll be bringing you back presents just like last time."

Doj's tail thumps on the floor and Jax looks up at me in surprise "Did he understand that?"

I laugh at him as I start folding jeans and shirts into his suitcase, the brand new pairs being set in one side "Probably not, but he understands 'presents' as being treats. Take him down and give him one of those lamb ears from the cupboard. Melissa should be ringing for you shortly. She said about 6."

"Okay. Anything else I need to do?"

I snort "You could put the washing in the machine in the dryer; it's your dark blue plaid shirt you wanted to wear tomorrow and my hoodie."

Jax nods "Sure thing babe. Ma said about 7 at TM for drinks and she'd order pizza for dinner."

I nod, Gemma had sent me a text earlier that day to tell me the same thing, demanding that we be there if only for an hour.


	52. Chapter 52

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. It's 540am. I've been awake for 4 hours. Here's a chapter (I wrote it a while ago so it doesn't have signs of the insanity I currently feel due to lack of sleep).

Reviews = Love = Next chapter sooner. :-)

The phone rings as I'm packing the last of Jax's things into his suitcase. His voice echoes up the stairs that he's got it and the soft murmur of his voice moves around the downstairs. Zipping up his suitcase I add it beside the other two and move onto mine. The four 'court' outfits that I've put together are hung carefully into the garment bag, the hangers poking through the top. The rest of the clothes of pulled out are normal things, a couple of pairs of jeans, two skirts, five t-shirts and four pairs of shoes.

10 minutes later I wrestle the zip of my suitcase closed and put it with the others to take downstairs later. Doing up the garment bag I hang it from the top of the door before going into the bathroom and empting my makeup case, repacking it with toiletries for the 2 weeks we're away. Abel's bath bubbles and shampoo, Shower gel and shampoo for both Jax and I, razors for both and shaving gel are tossed in along with my small travel makeup case which I repack with more subdued colours, knowing Cam will have her huge case at the house. Finishing that bag with perfume, aftershave, new toothbrushes and toothpaste I leave it open on top of the suitcase for my hairbrush in the morning.

Finally coming downstairs at 635 Jax waves from where he's sitting on one of the chairs in his games room. Lifting Abel's hand I wave back and head towards the kitchen, heating a bottle for Abel and carrying it through to the games room, along with a cloth for my shoulder.

Jax pulls the phone away from his ear for a second "You get everything packed?"

I nod, sticking the rubber teat of the bottle into Abel's wide open mouth "Yep. All set. Just have deliveries to do at Gem's and dinner/drinks at TM."

Jax nods once, pulling the mouthpiece back so he can speak in it "So, what else did you need?"

Jax rolls his eyes "My father died a long time ago. He was in an accident that was in no way caused by his health at all. The brakes failed on his bike and he went under a truck." He looks up at me and I shake my head, the fact that JT was dragged almost 200 yards under the truck and still lived for another 2 days isn't something many people know, and the need-to-know basis does not extend to this situation.

It's information I could have done without knowing, but Gemma telling Jax that Abel would be fine and using that as a reason that Tellers were 'born tough' had stuck in my brain like a bad song.

A couple of seconds later he says "Thanks, bye." and hangs up the phone. Leaning against the back of the chair he holds out his hands, waiting till I settle Abel in his arms I lean over the back of the chair "So you're ready to go to TM when he's done?"

I shake my head "I just need to put on a pair of shoes then I'm good to go."

Jax stretches over and kisses me lightly while Abel happily sucks on his bottle "That's why I love you."

"Why?"

"Cause you're happy to go to dinner with my mother in jeans and a t-shirt."

I snicker "Please, its pizza and beer at TM. But if I go get those shoes now when he's done and burped I'm ready. I changed him just before I came downstairs."

Doj's food stand is by the front door where I set it after he'd had dinner a little after 430, the bag of food already in the back of the Nitro and his bed that I'd replaced is still at Gemma's from before we moved, with his sofa in the new house he hadn't needed the squishy bed as well.

Coming back downstairs less than 5 minutes later I find Jax at the front door, Abel's capsule in his hand and the stand missing. "Put the stand in the back of the truck, and got the seat while I was out there."

I lift my eyebrows "And where was Abel while you did this."

"In my other arm babe. Relax." I roll my eyes and he steps towards me. "Do you not believe I could carry both?"

I start laughing when he uses the capsule to do bicep curls, only getting through two before I shake my head "Okay, okay muscle man. I believe you, now we better get going before Gem flips. Is the diaper bag in the car?"

Jax shakes his head "Told you, I ain't carrying no handbag."

Snorting I go through to the kitchen and pick up the offending item, the black item slung over my arm when I return. "Oh, baby, you remember when I told you I'd show you the shoes that started my obsession with heels?"

Jax nods, looking down at my feet before whistling "How the fuck do you walk in them?"

Underneath my skinny jeans are the heels that I fell in love with and couldn't leave behind, even if I couldn't walk in them. The 6.5 inch heels are offset slightly by the 2.5 inch platform, but what had attracted me to them in the first place was the printing of skulls all over the black material of the peep toe.

"I told you, I had to start with little ones, most of those I don't have anymore." The stiletto heel on the back isn't the thinnest of the ones I've got but it's certainly more delicate than some of the solid heels I've got. "Now, who's driving?"

Jax picks up his keys "Not you."

I follow behind him, whistling for Doj who comes to my side as I pick up his lead "I can drive in these perfectly. One day you'll let me show you."

Jax nods as he opens the car door and puts the seat into the base "I believe you."

Opening the tail door Doj looks forlornly towards the front of the car till I snap my fingers when he jumps into the back, sniffing the bag of food and his food stand before curling into a ball.

Jax sighs "Isn't that a bit mean, he's gonna be in there a while."

I shake my head "No he won't. When we get to TM he'll be coming out, and if anyone feeds him pizza it's not me that has to deal with him wanting to go to the potty at 2am."

Jax laughs "You're truly evil."

Smiling at him I nod "I know that's one of the many reasons that you love me."

"Damn straight."


	53. Chapter 53

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Here we go, bonus Saturday chapter. I did manage to get some more sleep, running on 6 hours when I've recently been getting 10-12 hours a day due to being sick. On the upside, only 3 more sleeps then I'm getting my Gall Bladder out.

Pulling into TM the first person who moves towards us is Chibs and it's not even to see us, he opens the tail door and pats Doj "Come on big boy, I have a slice of pizza with your name on it."

Shaking my head I unbuckle my seat belt smiling at Miles who's moving the food and dish from the back of my car into Gemma's Caddy which Jax had parked beside. "Pizza's inside, it arrived about 2 minutes ago. Beers cold and Gemma got some really fancy vodka for you to try Sarah."

Getting Abel out of his seat I nod "And Miles, please for the love of god call me S, or hey you if you must."

Miles laughs "Sorry."

Jax picks Abel out of my arms and points towards the diaper bag "You carry that."

"Oh for fuck sakes Jackson don't be silly. It's a black leather bag, what's so offensive?"

"It's a handbag." He states as we walk towards the door, Miles snickering quietly behind us.

"No it's not, it's a diaper bag. Full of diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, cream, a couple of toys, bibs, burp cloth and a change of clothes. You won't find any of that in my handbag."

Jax shrugs, pushing the door open "Don't care, it's a handbag."

Opie laughs "Still having that argument. Harden up bro."

Cam appears at my side, throwing her arms around me and hugging me tightly "Hey." She whispers in my ear "You doing okay?"

I nod, pulling away and taking a look at her, bursting into laughter before searching the room, finding Happy leaning against the bar "You work fucken fast you know that Hap?"

He frowns and I gesture towards Cam's neck where a fresh hickey is peeking out the top of her shirt. He shrugs and turns back to Bobby.

Cam slaps her hand to her neck "Dammit, I thought I'd covered it."

"You did, but moving to hug me moved your shirt off your collar bone." I reply with a giggle. "Guess Hap wanted to mark his territory."

Cam blushes faintly but doesn't say anything, dragging me towards the tables where Al, Donna, Lyla and Cherry are already sitting with Gem and Luann, three pizza boxes open on the two tables.

"Hungry girls?" I remark, pulling out the seat between Donna and Cam's empty one, her bomber jacket proof of her seat.

Gemma points towards the bar where the entire surface is almost covered "Had to make sure we got some before the vultures ate it all." Pointing at the three she tells me there's a Hawaiian, which makes my nose wrinkle. Ellie and I agree on that point, pineapple is a dessert food and does not belong in pizza or in burgers. Meat lovers, which is covered in sausage, ham, beef, chicken, pepperoni, prosciutto and a swirl of deep brown BBQ sauce piled on top of the cheese and a Margherita pizza which has tomato, basil and mozzarella on it.

"The one Cam told me was your favourite has crushed garlic, onions and chilli on half of it. I wasn't brave enough for the chilli." Gemma tells me, pointing to the difference in the sides of the huge pie.

Everyone but Al laughs at me when I pull Abel's burp cloth out of the diaper bag and drape it over the front of my white t-shirt. Picking up the first slice I put it to my mouth laughing when a bit of onion falls off, dragging some sauce with it and landing on the middle of what was the barb wire heart on my shirt before I covered it.

"That's why I wear a bib it's so good it's messy." I say with a smile, shoving a huge bite into my mouth. The slight heat from the chilli is enough to let me know that California, well Charming at least, still hasn't realised that chilli is amazing, if used in the right place.

Al and Lyla, who are already known for their appetites, look surprised when I reach for a second slice of pizza before they do. Their eyes widening in surprise as I laugh.

Pulling a bit of the meal lovers onto my napkin I stop to brush off my hands "There's one place in Charming that does pizza's well. Before I moved to New York Gem would make sure once a month we'd have a girls night of pizza and chick flicks."

"Really?" Jax's voice behind me makes me jump a little. Leaning backwards so I can see him I nod.

"You asked every now and then why you'd come home and it would smell like pizza and popcorn. Well, that's cause that's normally what we'd eaten."

Gemma narrows her eyes "Shush. You're giving away trade secrets there. How am I meant to do that with your kids if Jax knows?"

I laugh "Easy, I'll let you. Just as long as you don't…"

"Let them eat pizza, French fries, popcorn, chocolate chip cookies and ice cream in one night." Gemma finishes with a laugh; everyone else looks completely lost while I nod.

Finishing three slices of pizza and the vodka and lemonade that Jax had brought me it's almost 830 when he reappears at the table with a very tired Abel in his arms, the poor boy is almost dropping off to sleep while sucking on his bottle "Babe, time to go."

I nod, standing up and hugging Gemma tightly, thanking her again for dog sitting while we're gone. Crouching beside Doj where he's chewing on a pizza crust I gave him he looks up as I pat his head "Love you buddy. Be good for grandma."

Having already handed my keys to the house to Gemma so she can come and get the mail I double check she remembers the new alarm code which she nods at, telling me she's got it locked in the safe at their house just in case. The house keys I gave her were carefully done as both the keys for the front door and back door have 'do not copy' printed on them. My love for Gemma is deep enough, but I don't want her having free access to my home unless I decide to give her keys.

Jax and I retrace our steps to the car Donna and Opie using our exit as a way to get out themselves. Needlessly reminding Cam and Al that we need to be at the airport at Stockton at 530 before we leave Cam just laughs at tells me that the plane will wait for her, but that they'll be there.

Jax takes Abel straight up to bed while I putter around downstairs, putting the now cleaned dishes away and checking I've thrown everything perishable out from the fridge and that my laptop cords are in the bag with the laptop and phone chargers I set them in the entrance way as Jax comes down with the first two of the suitcases.

"So there's these two, our two, the garment bag and your makeup case thing?"

"And the laptop bag. But my makeup case can wait till tomorrow for any last minute things I forget."

Jax nods, setting Abel's two suitcases down and going back up the stairs, coming back a minute later with the garment bag folded in half over his arm and the two suitcases in his hands. "That's all then."

I pick up the handles for Abel's two suitcases and we take them all out to the car, setting the cases down beside the pushchair and then the garment bag flat across the top Jax closes the tail door again and looks at me "You okay?"

I nod then pause and shake my head "Not really."

Pulling me to his chest he wraps his arms tightly around my shoulders "How bout I run you a bath and get you a glass of wine."

Looking up into his eyes I nod once, wiggling closer to his chest and kissing over his heart "You get the drinks, I'll start the bath."


	54. Chapter 54

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. My favourite number is 69. Today I reached 69 reviews on TWCS so here's a chapter, pity it's not chapter 69 cause that would have been awesome!

When Abel wakes up at 4am I settle him in his car seat downstairs to go back to sleep after he's finished the bottle I propped up with a pillow. The bath, wine and the joint Jax and I had smoked on our balcony had helped me get to sleep by 10 and I'd slept soundly enough that I'm not yawning as I make a pot of coffee and put some calorie laden pop-tarts in the toaster.

Jax stumbles down the stairs at 415, looking dishevelled but awake and dressed as he inhales "Coffee?"

Handing him the huge travel cup of coffee I'd just poured I point towards the toaster as well "Those are yours. I'll just go get dressed and grab my bags."

"Bags?" Jax calls as I go up the stairs.

"Sure, handbag, diaper bag and makeup case." I reply, scaling the stairs rapidly.

10 minutes later I'm back downstairs, three bags hanging from my arms, my hairbrush in one hand, elastic band in my teeth and cell phone in the other.

We're out the door at 435, Abel in the back already asleep before we pull out of the drive. Passing through the dark streets we stop at TM where Happy loads his bags into the back while I jump out and climb into the middle of the backseat so he can have the front, with his long legs it wouldn't be fair for him to be in the back.

"Thanks for picking us up." Hap says his voice very sleepy.

"No probs bro." Jax replies "Did you just roll out of bed?"

Happy laughs "Yeah pretty much. S texted Cam when you guys were leaving your place which is just as well cause we were both still sleeping."

Cam yawns "Yeah, sorry I'm claiming the bed this time S. I need more sleep."

I shrug "That's cool. Al and Juice will miss out again."

Cam chuckles "And we're not even flying back for them to make up for it."

Happy looks confused and Cam reaches through the seats and pats his shoulder "Al's the only one of us girls not already a member of the mile-high club."

Happy growls low in his throat and Cam leans as close to his ear as she can, her ass almost in my lap where she rapidly starts whispering till his tense shoulders relax and he twists in his seat to press an almost gentle kiss to her lips.

"So how longs this flight?" Happy asks as we're about ¼ of the way there.

"Depends on winds. If we take off at 6am we should land in New York at 4pm. Provided that the wind behaves." Cam replies "If we have a headwind it could add anything up to an hour to the flight. Tailwind likewise could cut off almost an hour."

"Huh?" Happy turns, lifting his eyebrow and Cam giggles.

"If the wind is blowing the same way we're going the trip will take less time, if it's blowing against us it'll take longer."

Happy nods, resting his head against the headrest behind him "Wake me when we get to the airport." Closing his eyes he starts snoring before we've driven another 10 miles and Cam giggles softly.

Waiting till I'm completely certain Happy's sleeping I turn slightly "You know he's never flown before?"

Cam nods "Yeah, he said that when he picked me up. And what's worse is he didn't get a look at the plane, he was late and they'd already hangared it when he got there. He's got no clue."

I frown lightly, my eyes darting to Jax's in in the rear view "Cammy, does he know at all about your finances?"

She shakes her head "No. I tried to tell him and he just wouldn't listen. Jax, how's he gonna react when he realises?"

Jax shrugs "That I can't answer sorry Cam. I would suggest maybe trying to tell him again during the flight, the plane alone is going to give him an idea that we're not going to a tiny New York apartment."

Cam snorts "We're not even going to the house, we're going directly to the hotel, but we're only there three nights. How do you tell someone that you're worth more than anyone they know, period?"

I shrug "With Hap, exactly like that. He has an idea of what I'm worth, as does the whole club by now with how much money Jax and I have been putting into BV, and my two stores, and the house, and the car we're picking up." Blinking up at Jax I frown "Does anyone other than Ope and D know _what_ sort of car we're picking up?"

Jax laughs, shaking his head "Hell no. None of them have a clue cause they'd be fighting for first drive rights."

I snort "That's mine. No one drives this car till I have."

Cam looks confused, her eyes drifting between us but I shake my head and she shrugs "So you think I should basically sit him down and say 'Hey, by the way I'm worth millions of dollars'?"

I nod "Maybe soften him up a little first. Introducing him to the Mile High club and whatever else it was you promised him would be a good way to start." I mutter with a snort of laughter.

Cam pokes her tongue out at me and leans against my shoulder, her eyes closing "Sure, I'll take that into consideration. Wake me when we get there."

Cam falls asleep almost as fast as Happy did and with her, Hap and Abel all sleeping in the car Jax reaches over and turns the radio on quietly "Go to sleep if you want Darlin', I'll wake you all when we get to the airport."

I shake my head, reaching between the seats and sliding my hand onto his thigh "I'd rather stay awake at the moment, that way I can sleep on the plane, once I know how Abel's going to deal with it."

Jax nods and rests his hand over mine "Okay. How is he?"

Looking over at the car seat I giggle "He's sleeping, one fist in his mouth and the other hand is curled around his ear."

"How do we deal with him on the plane?"

I glance over at Cam's face and smile "Cam talked to Derek and he got some company to come out and retrofit one of the seats so that the seat lifts up and a multipoint car seat attachment folds out. His car seat should just snap straight in, that's why she wanted to know the make and model of the seat that day."

Jax glances up, catching my eyes "You're friends really do love you."

I nod "I know, and there's almost nothing in the world I wouldn't do for any of them."

Cam grumbles "Then how bout you be quiet so I can sleep."

Giggling I lean back pushing my arm behind her back so she can rest her head back on my shoulder "Sorry Cammy."

"S'okay, now shush."


	55. Chapter 55

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. In for my op today. Not sure when I'll be home and able to post again. Hope this tides you over.

Happy looks stunned, gobsmacked, taken aback, confused and bewildered when he sees the plane, his expression is so funny that I can't help but start laughing at him till he turns his dark gaze to me which makes me stop mid giggle.

Cam slides her arm around his waist "I promise, I will explain when we are in the air okay?"

He nods once, looking down at her then turns to the car to help pull the bags out of the back. His single duffle back looks funny next to the four suitcases, 3 bags, car seat and pushchair that Jax and I have. Al and Juice have 4 bags between them, but I know from experience that 3 of them are probably Al's alone. Donna and Opie by contrast have five suitcases, one for each of the four of them plus one for kids toys and books, the two booster seats, their twin stroller, and a backpack for all the things the twins need on any outing, toys, drinks, snacks, clean clothes, sweatshirts, sunscreen, hats etc.

Moving everything from the cars to the luggage hold on the plane takes us almost 5 minutes, the pilots helping make sure nothing will move. The only bags that are left out are the garment bags which Cam takes with her to hang in the tiny wardrobe in the planes bedroom.

During take-off no one tries to talk to me about anything, which I'm grateful for; Abel had woken up just as we were starting to taxi out to the runway so Cam had jumped up and gotten me the seat belt addition that meant I could hold him to my chest as we took off.

As we're climbing Abel starts crying painfully and my ears start popping so I know what his issue is. "Baby, can you pass me the bottle that's in the end of the bag, it should still be warm."

Jax reaches into the diaper bag I'd sat beside him, handing me the bottle that I'd heated right before we left home, the insulated bottle warmer on the end of the diaper bag had kept it hot enough that it's just a little cooler than normal.

"I know you're not hungry baby but have a drink." I whisper quietly to Abel as I nudge his lips with the teat of the bottle

A few more grizzly cries and he finally opens his mouth, the suction around the bottle helping his little ears pop while Ellie and Kenny are sucking on the hard boiled lollies Donna had handed them, and Opie when he's pouted.

After an hour in the air Happy and Cam disappear into the bedroom of the plane, Cam leading the way. Just before he passes I grab Happy's wrist which makes him drop to a crouch beside me "You okay cupcake?"

I nod and jerk my head towards the room "Cam doesn't share a lot of the information she's probably about to tell you so please don't over react."

Happy frowns slightly "I'll try not to, but this is a hell of a bombshell, I thought we were flying commercial."

I giggle and rub his bald head, something he once admitted in a drunken confession that only three people were allowed to do, his mother and Gemma being the other two, though I have a feeling Cam may have been added to the list now.

"Welcome to wonderland." I comment with a snicker towards Al who had compared her introduction to Cam's life to falling through a rabbit hole.

***There will be a one shot posted of Cam and Happy's discussion in the 'one shots' file***

Cam comes back out only about 45 minutes after her and Hap disappeared, the majority of the flight passing in almost stifling silence. Happy doesn't appear till the 'fasten seatbelt' light comes on 5 minutes before we're due to land, sitting down next to Jax, he closes his eyes and leans his head against the headrest. Cam's expression is slightly downcast and when I meet her eyes and lift an eyebrow she shrugs one shoulder, before turning her head back to look out the window like she had been since she came out of the room.

Once we've landed Cam is the first off the plane, the two Suburban's waiting already along with Derek in the Audi and Trish in the Mercedes. Cam hugs her father and step-mother before examining the cars "Why all four?"

Derek smiles "Well, we figured with three kids the more seats the better."

Trish nods "Sarah dear we thought that it would be best for you to be in the Audi, it's got the darkest tints so no one will be able to see you. We pre-checked in before we came out here to get you all. Mike's here for the drive back into town but then he's taking one of the Suburban's home. Joe's staying with us till the end of the trial."

I nod and Jax picks up Abel's car seat "Does it have seat points?"

Trish chuckles "Of course, when we found out that you were all coming with the kids we got hooks installed in each of the cars."

Derek shakes his head "Apart from the Cobra's love."

"Of course. Who would put a car seat in a two seat car?" She says, rolling her eyes "So this is baby Abel?"

I curl my arms around so she can see the sleeping baby in my arms and she smiles "He looks like his father."

I snicker "Blonde and gorgeous."

Trish puts her arm around my shoulders "Destined to break hearts he is."

"Yes Yoda." Trish slaps my shoulder lightly then turns back to everyone else. "So how do you want to do the cars?"

Donna looks towards one of the Suburban's "Probably best if we're in one of them with our kids."

Opie nods and picks up the booster seats, heading towards the closer of the two huge black SUV's.

Al bounces "I want the Merc, I want the Merc."

Derek laughs "Of course you do. Only cause you like playing with the individual heat controls. So you and Juice can come with me in the Mercedes. Sarah, you Jax and Abel can go with Trish in the Audi. Donna, Opie and their kids can go in one Suburban and Cam you and whoever that is can go in the other Suburban."

Cam shakes her head "That's Happy Daddy. But it's okay. Mike you can take the other car home, I'll go with you and Happy can go with Trish in the Audi. It doesn't seem worth it to take an extra car all the way into town when we don't need it."

Sorting the luggage is an easier thing this time round, with it all destined for the same place we just put bags in whichever vehicle is closer. Mike takes the second Suburban and disappears towards the house once all the bags are in cars.

Jax claims the front seat which I'm a mixture of glad and annoyed about. Glad because I want to be able to see Happy while I rip strips off him, and annoyed cause I'd like Happy to be in front of me on the approximate hour long drive so I can poke my fingers into his side and make him hate every second of being apart from Cam while he realises what an asshole he's being.

Before I can even step towards the car Trish lifts Abel out of my arms and tilts her head towards the black eyed bald biker "I think he wants to say something to you, he's been trying to get your attention for the last few minutes."

I snort "I know I've been ignoring him."

Trish laughs and walks towards the car "Well, we'll wait."

Turning towards him I do something that no one other than me would get away with and poke him hard in the centre of his chest "What the fuck did you do?" I snap.


	56. Chapter 56

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. One shot of the Cam/Happy conversation has just been posted as well.

Happy narrows his eyes "What makes you think I did anything?"

I snort and wave my hand angrily towards the cars "Cam hasn't said a word since she came out of that room, apart from telling her father that she's happy to travel back in a separate car to you. That leads me to believe that you did _something_."

Happy shakes his head "I told her I needed some time to get used to her being worth 20 times what you are worth. And did you ever think to mention it to anyone that you're worth millions?" He growls at me, starting to pace.

I roll my eyes again "Happy Lowman stop being a jackass. My net worth is none of anyone's concern, and it certainly doesn't give you an excuse to be an asshole!"

Happy spins and looks at me "I beg your pardon."

The way he says it is dangerously low and if I didn't know him as well as I do I'd probably be banging on the door of the plane and asking the pilots to take me to Antarctica to get away from him. Instead I step closer to him "You heard me. I called you a jackass and an asshole."

Happy shakes his head "You might wanna shut up."

"Nope." I reply with a smirk "I won't. Not till you tell me what the issue is with Cam and something that is so completely out of her control it's at the same level of control that you had when you were born with a dick. Being born with one doesn't give you an excuse to act like one."

Happy can't control the snicker that comes out of his mouth, but the angry look returns after a second "I know she can't control it, but she could have told me before now."

I shake my head furiously "She would have told you why she didn't. She has a very bad history of trusting the wrong men with her heart, and information about her life. I was hoping that you; the stereotypical wrong man; would actually be the right one."

Spinning on my heel I shoot one last comment over my shoulder at him before storming to the car "If she leaves Cali cause of you I will cut off your cupcake supply, permanently. Fix it Happy."

Sliding into the backseat of the car I shake my head at Jax's curious look and turn my attention to Abel. Happy gets into the seat on the other side of Abel and says nothing, buckling his seatbelt and returning his head to a reclined position on the headrest.

Trish clears her throat and starts the car, moving slowly forwards while the Suburban edges in front of us and the Mercedes pulls in behind.

The 57 minutes that it takes us to get from the airport into the hotel in town is almost completely silent. Trish and Jax attempt to make a bit of conversation but with Happy not saying a word the whole way and my attention firmly fixed on Abel they give up after about 15 minutes.

Arriving in front of the hotel I almost laugh at the fact that there are three parks out the front, something almost unheard of in New York. Unloading the baggage onto a couple of luggage carts that are brought outside there's a couple of minutes of confusion before Derek just sighs, hands Cam their room key and tells her to get it all taken up there and it can be sorted after the cars are parked in the building down the road.

Cam picks up the key and leads the way, checking quickly where we're actually going before talking quietly to the porters who are helping with the two carts full of suitcases and car seats, pushchairs and garment bags.

Cam, Al and Juice go up with the first lot of bags. Jax, Opie and Donna going up with the second which leaves me and Happy downstairs waiting for the lift to return. Finally looking over at him I lift my eyebrow "Have you worked out what you're doing? Do I need to see if we can swap Joe's single room for a double and you can share with him?"

Happy shakes his head "No cupcake you don't."

"Good. Glad to hear it. I'll keep Al and Juice distracted while you and Cam sort out whatever shit it is that's in your head, cause Happy I meant it when I threatened your cupcake supply."

Happy laughs as the lift dings back to where we're standing, Jax appearing behind the closed doors "You two okay?"

I nod, stepping straight into his arms "I'm fine. Happy has something very unfamiliar to do though."

"What?" Jax lifts his eyes too Happy as his arms enclose me against his chest.

"He has to apologise for being a jackass and an asshole." I say, nuzzling into his shirt "How's Abel?"

Jax laughs, shaking his head "Abel's sleeping again, Donna and Opie are stunned by their room, Kenny and Ellie are already bouncing on one of the beds and Al and Juice have decided to go out for dinner and a drink, Al said she knows some pretty nice places around here. We're waiting for Trish and Derek to get back before we all split off. Donna and Opie are staying here."

I nod "I'm happy to order some room service, stuff my face and then go to sleep."

Jax and Happy both laugh as the lift opens again. The hallway is completely empty but with only 6 rooms on each floor Derek has booked almost the whole floor, only two other rooms on the floor that he'd been told weren't booked till our last night. The doors to the rooms we've got are all standing open, through the open door closest to us I can hear the twins laughing and Donna trying to get them to sit down. Peeking through the door I laugh at her frustrated expression.

"Eleanor, Kenneth if you don't sit down right now there will be no dessert." I say with a wink at Donna. The pair immediately bounces onto their bottoms on the bed and smile over at me with almost angelic looking expressions.

"Sorry Aunty Sarah." They chorus and I back up out of the door before I can start laughing at them.

Jax shakes his head "Some responsible parent you are."

I poke my tongue out at him, watching Happy and Cam go into their room and the door closes behind them. "I am a responsible parent. Just an irresponsible aunt. There's a difference. I can give Ellie and Kenny back when they're full of sugar."

Derek's laugh from behind me startles me a little and I turn and shrug "Like you won't do the same with Abel."

Trish nods "Of course we will. When he's old enough of course. Where's Cam?"

I gesture towards the now firmly closed door "Her and Happy had some issues they needed to talk about."

Derek frowns "Is she okay?"

I nod, stepping out of Jax's arms and sliding my arm around Derek's waist and giving him a hug "She's fine. Happy doesn't do well with secrets and with everything that happened to Cam with previous people she was seeing she didn't tell him anything about you, net worth, plane, accommodation while we were here. He came into this completely unaware and it blindsided him."

Derek pats my back as I start talking, his hand freezing in mid-air when my words register "She's seeing him?"

I nod "She told me that you knew."

Derek chuckles "I knew she was seeing one of your friends from back home, but I didn't expect him to be so..."

"Tattooed, rough round the edges, abrupt, bald?" I say with a smirk.

"Old. Let's go with old." Derek says "The tattooed, rough round the edges, bald doesn't bother me, and the abrupt I haven't seen. Besides if he's your friend he's bound to be good."

I laugh "He's not that old really, he's 33, only 11 years difference." I look towards Trish and smile at her "Isn't there about 9 years between you two?"

She chuckles and nods "Yes there is. Derek now you leave Cam alone. If she's happy that's all that matters. I do have a question though."

She turns to Jax with a slight frown "Is Happy actually his name?" 

Jax nods "Yep. Happy Lowman. The name he was given when he was born."

Trish shrugs "I guess it's not as strange as some that I've heard."

I laugh "Tell me about it, I went to school in Palm Beach with girls named Sunshine, Rainbow, and Moonbeam. They were sisters. I also had twin boys in my class named Track and Nascar."

Jax laughs "Really?"

I nod again as Abel squeaks from inside the room. "Yep, hence why our children will have normal names." Brushing past him I pretend to ignore the stunned almost terrified look on his face when I say our children.


	57. Chapter 57

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Forgot to give a health update in last chapter posted. Surgery went well, started at 2pm, over by 330. I was discharged the same night at 830 and back home by 9, felt like I'd been hit by a mini-bus, but only four incisions, two of them glued, two stitched with dissolving stitches. Onward and upward from here.

Derek and Trish end up going out with Al and Juice for dinner and drinks while Donna, Opie and their kids converge on our room and we order a huge amount of room service, the kids laugh when the adults sit on the floor to eat, mainly cause we'd ordered the two of them to the small table in the room, their burgers and chips consumed so quickly that the ice cream hasn't even started melting before they're diving into each side of the 2-person sundae I'd ordered for them.

Donna laughs at Opie's shocked look "They didn't have much lunch remember baby, a ham sandwich and an apple each is half what they'd normally eat for lunch. And they had no snacks."

Opie shrugs, turning back to his meal, cutting into the huge piece of New York strip steak on his plate with a grin. As normal by the time he's finished I'm only half way through my meal but before I can pass my plate to him Donna's reached over scooped half my leftover chips and the garlic bread onto her plate, leaving the rest for her husband.

Shoving a whole piece of garlic bread into her mouth she grins as she chews making me shudder in revolution. "D, that's really gross!"

Donna laughs and swallows forcefully "Sorry, I'm hungry." Leaning over she does something that makes all of us turn our heads when she dunks one of her chips into the kid's sundae before dropping it into her mouth.

Opie shudders "Don, love you and all but that's still disgusting, no matter how many times you do it."

Donna pokes her tongue out at her husband and drops the fry into her mouth "Don't knock it till you've tried it."

I shake my head "Nah, you started doing that when you were 15 and I _did_ try it once. It was awful then, it's still gonna be awful now."

Jax nods in agreement "I second that."

"Third, motion passed. French fries and ice cream is gross." Opie says with a snicker at his wife's expression. "But I still love you."

Opie and Donna are heading back to their room when Cam comes through the door again, heading towards her father's room with a sad look on her face.

"Cammy, what's wrong?" I ask, waiting till she looks up.

"Where's Daddy?" She says with a sniff.

"He went out with Al, Juice and Trish for dinner. Hang on a second." I stick my head back into the room "Baby I'm going to talk to Cam for a while. Abel needs a bath, can you do it. His bath stuff is in my makeup case which is in the bathroom already." Without waiting for an answer I pull the door closed behind me and grab Cam's arm, dragging her towards Derek's room.

"Sit and talk." I say with a frown, turning to the bar and pouring her a double shot of whiskey into one of the glasses. "Is Hap still alive?"

She laughs softly and nods "Yeah he is. He spent some time muttering about inhumane threats of cupcake cut-off but he's alive." She looks up at me and starts blinking rapidly as tears well in the corner of her eyes "What the fuck am I gonna do S?"

I sit down beside her and grab her hands "What's wrong, I don't know how to help if you don't talk to me."

Cam swallows half the whiskey in one mouthful and sets the glass down on the table "On the plane I told Hap that Daddy did all those checks on my ex's and he looked like he was gonna skin me alive. Till I told him that none of them had been done on him."

I nod "He wouldn't have wanted that done without prior knowledge. God only knows what Derek would uncover."

Cam laughs "Daddy would find that he'd been married, was widowed due to a drive by shooting. He'd find all of his arrest record, including the 18 months he did for possession of a concealed weapon and the unsuccessful charge of smuggling. He'd also find out that Happy looks after his sick mother, and that she's probably got less than 6 months to live. What he wouldn't find out is that the bulk of Happy's money goes to paying for the drugs that are keeping his mother pain free and alive, he wouldn't find out that Happy rides 4 hours each way from where he lives to Bakersfield at least once a week to see his Mom. He would find out that Happy's buying a house in Charming but he wouldn't know that it's so his mother can move closer to him."

Cam swallows the second half of the whiskey in her glass and looks at me "Daddy won't find out that I've never loved someone as much as I love Happy Lowman, and that when I told him 10 minutes ago that I loved him and couldn't imagine life without him he asked me to wear his ink."

"What!?" I know my voice goes up at least 5 notches when I speak the single word and Cam nods.

"He wasn't happy about me not telling him everything but he understands, after all there's still a lot of secrets he has that I don't know." Cam tells me quietly "I did tell him though that Daddy would run all those checks when I tell him I'm moving to California to live with Happy, which is when he told me about the arrest history. I knew he'd done time, I can't imagine a single Son that hasn't."

I nod, Jax had done a 6 month stretch for assault 2 years after I left and Opie and Chibs had been inside at the same time on charges of breaching the peace, only because of their histories had they ended up inside but without the two of them it's possible that Jax wouldn't have come out alive.

"So what's happening?" I ask quietly while Cam twists the glass round on the table.

"I tell Daddy that once this contract is done I'm moving to California. He runs all these checks, finds out stuff I already know and probably some stuff that I don't, and that Happy didn't realise could be found digitally." Cam looks up at me "In the meantime I pack up the rest of my stuff, load it into the container with the stuff from the apartment and send it to California."

I nod "And get a pre-nup type contract cause you know Derek won't let you do anything without one."

Cam snorts and mock glares at me "Do you have one?" I shake my head and she lifts an eyebrow "Then why do I need one?"

"Umm." I point towards myself "20 million dollars, total." Pointing to her "100 million dollars, plus the heir to billions of dollars, and a multi country company with contracts so huge it includes NASA, the IRS and dozens of law enforcement offices."

Cam laughs, shaking her head again "And if anything happened with Happy and I can you really see him wanting anything from me?"

I shrug "Good point, but you know your dad."

"I do. And if I tell him I don't want one he'd listen, the lawyers may be a different story but they're paid to do what we want so they can go teach their grandmothers to suck lemons."

I laugh standing up and hugging her tightly "So you'll be coming to Cali lots till you move?"

Cam nods "I'll either drive or fly when I have time off, and if I can't get over there I'll bring Hap to me. He gets that money is nothing to me and he's even agreed to let me start paying for his mom's medication so she can get the best ones. I'm still working on getting him to agree for another specialist to look at her files."

Squeezing her again I whisper "Just keep working on him, he'll fold. And if he doesn't remind him that I was taught to bake by his Mom, and when she's living in the same property as you she can show you some things."

Cam shudders "I don't know about living with his Mom. Maria seemed nice but I only met her once."

I roll my eyes "You're going to be in LA, it's a hell of a lot closer to Bakersfield then Charming is."

Cam nods "It's 111 miles from LA to Bakersfield; it's 260 from Charming to Bakersfield."

I laugh walking towards the door "See, you already know that shit. It'll be fine Cam, and if you need anything, and I do mean anything, ask."

Cam follows me towards the door "I'm going to stay in here so I can talk to Daddy. Hap knows where I am."

I smile at her and nod again, pulling the door closed behind me. Once I'm in the hallway I can't help the giant smile that crosses my face and the little happy dance I do down the carpet brings a chuckle from the door to our room.

Looking up into Jax's eyes he lifts an eyebrow "You okay?"

I nod, jumping into his arms and squeezing his neck "I am absolutely perfect."

Squeezing my ass he winks "That you are. Abel's bathed and sleeping, the hotel provided a cot for him but what's he sleeping in once we're back at Cam's house?"

"Trish and Derek might have done out one of the rooms in Cam's wing for the kids, all three of them. But the cot can be moved into whatever room we get."


	58. Chapter 58

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Waking up in the morning the first thing I want to do is roll over and go back to sleep, Jax's body is a warm lump beside me in the bed that I curl closer to till I'm nudging his shoulder with my nose.

"Mmmm. 5 more minutes." He grumbles sleepily and I nod against his skin, letting my eyes close again.

The reason for me being awake becomes obvious when there's a knock and the door creaks open "S, breakfast will be ready in the conference room in 30 minutes. Charlotte is on her way and everyone else is already up."

Donna's voice is a hushed whisper in the quiet room but I hear each word perfectly "K D. Getting there." I mutter, lifting my head off the pillow with a groan.

Jax rolls over; folding his arms around my body and pulling me back down "2 more minutes then." He says with a smile "2 more minutes of just us, peace and quiet before reality sets in."

I nod against his chest and press my lips over Abel's name "Can't we just stay here all day?"

Jax chuckles softly "I wish babe, I really do."

I sigh and pull myself out of his arms "I'm going to shower. I set your clothes for today on the dresser last night."

Jax looks over at the pile and frowns "Jeans and a shirt? You don't want a suit and tie."

I laugh as I walk towards the bathroom "Hell no. I'm not putting anyone forward as something they're not. But be aware, Cam, Al, D, Charlotte and I colour co-ordinated."

"So I finally get to meet the DA?" Jax slides out of bed and follows me, checking on Abel as he passes the cot and dropping a bottle into the warmer we'd brought with us.

Turning on the shower I nod, gathering my shampoo and body wash "Yeah, you should have met her before the trial, but with it being moved forward it didn't happen. At least she's here this morning so you do get to meet her before we're in the courtroom."

35 minutes later Jax and I are both showered and dressed and Abel is dressed and in Jax's arms as we descend in the lift to the ground floor where the conference room is.

Introducing Jax, Donna, Opie, Happy and Juice to Charlotte takes a second but she nods with each of them, shaking Jax's hand before dropping her briefcase on the desk "So I just have a few other pre-trial things I need to check with you Sarah. Do you want to go somewhere more private?"

I snort and shake my head "Anything that's going to come out in the trial will be public knowledge within a few days so if my friends know it first they're better prepared."

Charlotte smiles and nods "Okay that sounds reasonable. First, I went past the court on the way here, there are no reporters there yet but it's still early enough that they could be on the way. The junior they assigned me has been given the very important job of ringing me five minutes before we leave here to tell me if there are any reporters there yet. And then again two minutes before we leave. It's only a 5 minute walk from here so if we leave 15 minutes before we're due to sit down you've got plenty of time, plus that also gives us time if something does happen and you need to go in the back way."

I nod and she steps towards the buffet in the corner "I know it's unlikely but please try and eat something instead of just drinking coffee. I don't think you'll end up on the stand any time before tomorrow. But just in case I don't want you passing out on me."

I sigh and Jax pats the arm that's supporting Abel's weight "I'll get you something babe. You just stay there."

Jax returns with a plate piled with bacon, eggs, sausages, toast and a whole lot of miniature pastries. "Before you ask me if I'm insane this is for both of us." Abel sticks his hand out and picks up a piece of toast which makes Jax laugh.

Reaching over I pull the toast out of his hand, waiting for the squawk of disapproval which arrives just as I lift one of the tiny jars of baby food I'd put together out of the diaper bag. Before I can even open it Trish is in front of me holding out her hand with a smirk on her face "Now I know you're not thinking of feeding him something orange while you're wearing white are you Mom?"

Shaking my head I pass her the jar and watch as she settles Abel into the high chair the hotel had provided.

Charlotte returns to the table with a cup of coffee and her own plate of food. "The list of witnesses has been passed over if you want to double check it, but it's the same as the last one."

I shake my head, picking open one of the miniature croissants and shoving some bacon and eggs into it. Taking a tentative bite I realise that even though I'm nervous I'm also hungry. Jax grins when I finish the croissant and end up eating another one with the same filling and then a chocolate Danish.

"Feel better?" He asks with a smile.

I nod and lean over to give him a soft kiss "I do. Thanks baby. Can I have my coffee now?"

Jax passes me the cup he'd kept out of my reach as he kept pushing the plate towards me. Charlotte looks between us and shakes her head.

"What?" I ask, picking up the cup.

"I never would have believed it if I didn't see it." She comments, running her hand through her thick blonde hair. "You're a different person then you were when you left, you were pretty much afraid of your shadow."

I shrug and grab Jax's hand "There's a saying that I've recently discovered is complete bullshit. It's 'You can never go home again.' I've found that going home was exactly what I needed to become myself again."

Charlotte nods, turning to the rest of the table and starting to list some of the things we're likely to hear, and see, including the photos taken when I was in the hospital. Everyone at the table either saw me in person or has already seen the couple of photos Al and Cam had, apart from Happy.

"Charlotte, do you have those photos?" I ask quietly when there's a break in the conversation.

She shakes her head "Not the originals, they're at the courthouse already. I do have some copies."

I hold my hand out and she lifts a couple of photocopies out of her briefcase "Are you sure?"

I shake my head and pull them from her fingers "It's not for me." Turning in my seat I look at Happy where he's at the other end of the table "Hap, come here. Trish, can you and Derek take Charlotte to the front desk and make sure they know to let her in whenever she comes?"

Trish stands up and waits for Derek and Charlotte to rise, the later looking at me with a slightly confused look but understanding dawns in Cam's eyes and she quietly whispers "You don't wanna know." Under her breath which makes Charlotte frown even deeper but she follows Derek and Trish, who is still holding Abel silently out the door.

Happy sits in Charlottes abandoned seat "What's up cupcake?"

Passing the two photos to him I put my hand over them "Before you look at these remember one thing okay?"

"What?" He says, his dark eyes flashing over my face with concern.

"Remember that justice is done." I lift my hand off and wait while Happy turns the pages over, the normally stoic man sucks in a startled breath, lifting his eyes to me.

"What was wrong?"

I shake my head "You'll get the full list later I'm sure, but probably not till I'm questioned, or my doctors that is. I was completely malnourished and dehydrated, among other things."

Happy passes the photo to Jax who barely looks at it; it's almost a carbon copy of the one that they saw at Cam's. Tossing it into Charlottes open briefcase it's not till Happy lets loose a tirade of profanity that I realise the second page isn't a photo, it's a full list of my injuries.

"Hap!" I grab his hand and get nothing but a violent wrench from his arm as he continues to list the things he'd like to do to Craig. "Happy!" I try again, in vain as he moves on to some things that make me cringe and Jax cross his hands over his crotch. "Happy Lowman you stop that right now!" I snap, finally bringing Happy back to the present as he was muttering in great detail what he'd like to do with a bottle of disinfectant and a pair of needle nose pliers which has Juice paling and Donna and Opie both covering their kids ears tighter.

Happy lifts his eyes as he reaches the bottom of the page, the swirling colour darker than the pits of Hell where Craig now enjoys every day. "I'm alive, I'm healthy, I'm happy and I'm here! What happened to me is in the past and once this shit is over I fully intend on never thinking about it again. Okay?"

Happy surprises not just me, but everyone else in the room by getting to his feet and hugging me tightly to his chest. Pulling far enough back so he can look down at me he shakes his head "There would not have been a rock on earth that piece of fertiliser could have hidden under if you'd not survived."

Hugging me again I nod against his shoulder "I know Hap, but I'm fine. Now, before everyone starts thinking you're insane wanna let go so I can finish my breakfast?"


	59. Chapter 59

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

SUPER DOOPER LONG CHAPTER! So I want lots of reviews...come on...please!?

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Sorry if this seems strange, I've never actually been in a court room! This is a long chapter cause it's the entire first day of the trial. I was going to split it up but I didn't want to for continuity. The second day will be another chapter, but I will have chapters in between.

Sitting beside Jax in the white skirt and dress shirt I'd worn for the first day of the trial I know my knuckles are as white as the material I'm wearing when I grip his hand tightly. The lawyer that Craig's parents had hired to defend him keeps looking nervously at the door like he's expecting Craig to walk in at any second, which it's possible he is. Charlotte is sitting quietly at her table, her notes spread in front of her and the second she'd been assigned with just a few days before the trial looking completely out of place.

The judge clears her throat loudly bringing everyone's attention to the front "Mr Johnson, where is your client?"

The defence lawyer gets to his feet "I'm uncertain ma'am. We're currently trying to locate him."

The judge sighs "Given that this trial was brought forward at the request of the defence I'm going to proceed. Until your client appears this will be classed as a trial in absentia."

Charlotte looks up and then turns to me "That means we're going to run the trial as normal, any verdict will stand when Craig reappears. He doesn't have to be here at all."

The judge allows Charlotte the small time she's spent to explain what's going on before turning her attention back to the man still half-standing "I am ready for your opening argument Mr Johnson?"

Craig's lawyer gets to his feet and walks around the table, picking up a single piece of paper "Certainly Ma'am." Turning to the jury he paces in front of them a couple of times before opening his mouth. "I fully intend to prove to this court that the allegations Ms Hale…" 

"Objection." Charlotte gets to her feet with a smile at me "My client has married recently and is now Mrs Teller, this information was passed to Mr Johnson weeks ago."

The judge nods, her gaze flicking towards me where I'm surrounded by my friends. "Sustained, Mr Johnson, please remember the name change, it may not be important to you but it was also registered in the files for this case."

The slimy man nods rolling his eyes as he turns around away from the judge "Sorry. We fully intend to prove to this court that the allegations _Mrs Teller_ is making towards our client are lies. While we are not debating her traumatic experience Mr Turner was not party to the kidnapping or subsequent rape, torture and maltreatment that she faced."

"We have evidence here to show that Mr Turner was out of the country when Mrs Teller was kidnapped and did not return till days before she escaped when he started looking for her out of concern for his girlfriend's safety. It was his unfortunate luck to be in the same city as she was found in." 

Even from where I'm sitting almost directly behind Charlotte I can see her shoulders tense at the bullshit coming from the mouth of Mr Kyle Johnson, the 'finest' defence lawyer in the state.

"I intend to show that my client was nothing more than a concerned boyfriend in the wrong city at the wrong time." With that he sits back down, shooting a smirk at Charlotte who pauses for a second before standing up.

Charlotte smiles at the judge and passes her quiet gaze over the jury made up of 7 women and 5 men before waving her hand towards me "To put a face to one of the names you'll hear many times during this Mrs Teller is the woman sitting in the front row with her husband." I turn my head towards the people, keeping my expression blank.

"She's not the defendant in this case, she's the victim. She was harassed by her boyfriend and then when she ended the relationship he stalked her. By her own admission she was stupid to take him back but she did and they went on what she was lead to believe was a 'romantic getaway' to reconnect. Over the next days we will show you how Mr Turner harassed my client, finally leading to him kidnapping her and putting her through almost 11 weeks of torture, torment and horror before she finally escaped. Unfortunately the harassing did not end there and while Sarah Teller did have 7 months of relative peace while he was incarcerated. The day of his release he was stalking her again, despite the restraining order placed against him."

Charlotte sits back down and turns around to face me, patting the hand that's clenched around the wood in front of me while the judge looks over at both of them. "We'll take a 10 minute recess now, and Mr Johnson it would be a very good idea if you found your client and got him here."

As he nods furiously everyone gets to their feet while the judge leaves. Charlotte stays where she's sitting looking at me and then at everyone around me "Now would be a good time for any of you to go to the bathroom, or get water if you need it. I don't know who he's going to start by questioning but he's got Alice, Camryn, Katrina and both Craig's parents on his list. As well the pilot of a charter plane who apparently flew Craig from New York to Ottawa, Ontario two days before you were kidnapped, conveniently he's the same one who flew him back four days before you escaped."

I know that by comparison Charlotte's witness list has me, Al, Cam, the ER doctor who admitted me in York, my physiatrist, the manager of the Lumiere building who had brought the security footage with him and the captain of the boat Craig was working on in York.

The ten minutes pass rapidly, when Mr Johnson comes back in he looks just as frustrated as he did when he left, Craig's parents right behind him shoot narrowed eyed glares at me which I ignore as easily as I'd been ignoring the murderous look Katrina had aimed at me since the second she walked into the court room.

We all get back up as the jury and judge file back into the courtroom, Mr Johnson staying standing when everyone else sits down.

Coming round to the front of the table he leans against it, smiling at the jury in a way I can see he's hoping is charming but makes my skin crawl. "My client had what he always described as a perfect relationship with Mrs Teller, until she broke up with him with no reason. He won her back and the pair went back to being 'perfectly happy', those are the words of his parents. When Sarah went missing Craig's parents elected not to tell him as he was in Canada with extended family that he had not seen in years. When he returned and found that she was missing he was understandably upset with his parents for not telling him but was consumed by worry for his girlfriend who by then had been missing for 2 and a half months. He immediately found that not only had his car been stolen and found burnt out in Vermont but that due to this the police considered him a suspect. In a brainless act, his words, he instead of going to the police went to Rutland, Vermont where his car had been found. Over the following four days he searched for his girlfriend, eventually making his way to York, Maine the day she was found. To his complete surprise he was arrested and charged with multiple crimes and imprisoned, despite his protesting of being innocent."

Mr Johnson turns back to his desk and picks up a single sheet of paper "This is the transcript of the very short court showing he had initially." Passing it into the judge she looks at it before nodding and gesturing for it to be passed to any member of the jury who wants to read it. One of the men leans forwards and accepts the page, flicking his eyes over the neatly printed page. Having seen it I know exactly what it says.

Craig had protested his innocence but the witnesses from York who had seen him daily had the trial over in less than 3 hours and Craig locked up for 12 months for the initial kidnapping with the trial for everything else to come, which is how we ended up where we are now.

"There was no chance for my client to defend himself; there was no opportunity for the defence to bring in my first witness, a pilot whose testimony would have completely changed the outcome of that trial. For my first witness I'd like to call Nathan Broadway."

A man I hadn't noticed in the back stands up and works his way towards the seat, being sworn in and sitting down takes a few minutes while I examine his face, certain he looks familiar.

"Mr Broadway may I ask what your profession is?" Johnson starts.

"Certainly, I'm the owner and pilot of a company that charters planes for private flights." He answers and then who he is springs to mind.

Leaning forward I tap Charlotte on the shoulder "I know who he is." Charlotte nods and I continue "He's a pilot yes, but he's also Katrina's brother-in-law."

Johnson looks over and notices my head close to Charlotte's and he clears his throat "And what is your connection to the Turners?"

"Katrina Turner is married to my brother." He states simply, smiling at Katrina and his brother where they're sitting in the row behind Craig's parents.

"And where were you on the night of July 13th?"

"I was in Ottawa, Ontario."

"Why?"

"I'd flown over there that day to take Craig to a family reunion; I stayed the night and returned to New York the following day."

"Is that normal, for you to stay in a city after a chartered flight?"

Nathan shakes his head "No, given it's less than 2 hours normally I would have returned the same night, but the reunion didn't start till the following day so I stayed with Craig to keep him company till his family arrived."

"And what did you do while you were there?"

"Objection, relevance?" Charlotte stands up.

The judge looks at Mr Johnson "Is there a point?"

He nods "Yes, three more questions and I'm done."

"Overruled, continue."

He smirks over his shoulder as Nathan clears his throat "We played a few games of pool, Craig bet me soundly each time. Drank a few beers and called it a night about 8pm."

"And during the time preceding your parting did Mr Turner phone anyone?"

Nathan nods "He did, he called his girlfriend twice, once just after we landed and once just before we went to bed."

"Were they long phone calls?"

Nathan shrugs "The first one was they talked for about 15 minutes. The second one was maybe 3 minutes."

"And finally on this line of questioning, was Mr Turner in a good mood both while he was on the phone and not?"

Nathan nods "He was in a great mood. After the first phone call he kept talking about how he wanted to marry Sarah and he was going to propose when he got back. By the time he got off the phone the second time he was tired, but still in a good mood. He certainly went to his room smiling."

"Did you see him again before returning to New York?"

Nathan shakes his head "No, I left early the next morning, leaving Ottawa at 6am. The next time I saw him was when I returned to Ottawa to pick him up on the 25th of September, when we did do the return flight in a day at Mr and Mrs Turners request, he didn't know that Sarah was missing and they didn't want to tell him over the phone."

"Did you tell him?"

Nathan shakes his head again "No, they asked me not to."

"Did he ask where she was?"

"He did, several times; he tried to ring her as soon as we landed as well but couldn't reach her."

"Had he tried while he was in Canada?" Johnson leans against his table again, joining his hands in front of his body.

"No, his phone fell out of his pocket while he and his family were at some waterfall and it broke, he intended on replacing it when he got back to New York."

"So he returned home not knowing his girlfriend was missing and had been for weeks. What was his reaction when he found out?"

Nathan clears his throat and looks towards Craig's parents with a sad smile "He was angry at his parents for not telling him, not getting hold of him somehow. But when he computed what they were saying he lost it."

"Lost it? Sorry I don't understand what you mean."

"He started crying, screaming, and asking where she was and how he could find her. He started searching for her within a few hours of finding out."

"And what happened?"

"He rang us every day to let us know what was happening, the day before he was arrested he told us he'd found a lead in York and he'd let us know what happened. Then he rang the next day to say he'd been arrested and accused of kidnapping Sarah and holding her captive." Nathan stops for a second and takes a few breaths "He was incarcerated for 7 months but because of a technicality his parents were able to get him bailed till this trial. Two days after he was released he left New York, intending to get to the bottom of the bogus guilty verdict."

"And what happened then?"

"He sent a letter when he got back to Maine saying he'd be back for the trial."

"Thank you, that's all." Mr Johnson takes his seat with a smirk at Charlotte who gathers a few papers in front of herself before standing.

"Mr Broadway, as a pilot you're required by law to submit flight manifests are you not?"

He nods "I am."

Charlotte lifts a few sheets of paper from the pile "So can you please tell me why there is a manifest here on the 12th of July for you and five passengers to go from New York to Naples?"

"I flew to Naples on the 12th and then back to New York on the 13th, there I picked up Craig and we went straight to Ottawa."

"But there is no return manifest from Naples till the 17th, when you and the same 5 passengers returned to New York." Charlotte passes the copies of the manifests to the jury.

"I don't know. There must have been a mistake. I went to Naples on the 12th, back to New York on the 13th. Then I returned to Naples on the 16th to collect my passengers for their return flight on the 17th." Nathan says slowly.

"So you flew almost 9 hours to take a family member on a 2 hour flight?"

Nathan nods and Charlotte smiles "So who pays for the fuel for the 18 hours of flying you had to do for this short flight to help a family member?"

"No one. I took it at a loss." Nathan replies, smiling in a way he thinks is engaging, having been on the end of it a few times myself.

Charlotte returns to her table and lifts another sheet of paper "I did a bit of research about something such as this, a plane such as yours will use approximately 2900 gallons on a flight from Naples to New York, this works out to 8 thousand dollars. Each way. You happily made a loss of at least 16 thousand dollars to help a family member?"

Nathan nods again, his smile fading a little as Charlotte passes the calculations over, showing the volume of fuel a plane like Nathan flies uses, at .73 gallons per nautical mile and 3831 nautical miles from New York City to Naples, Italy, and the current cost of 2.80 per gallon of jet fuel.

"Your plane also holds a maximum of 2985 gallons of fuel you would have landed in Naples with approximately 40 gallons of fuel left, you would have had to refuel before you left yet the airport you landed at has no records of you getting any fuel till the 16th when you refuelled with 2940 gallons of fuel costing $8,232. How did you get back to New York with only 40 gallons of fuel left?"

"Objection." Johnson jumps to his feet "How the witness got from Naples to New York is of no concern to this trial, and if he chose to make a loss in his business to help family that's his choice."

"Overruled, I for one would like to know how Mr Broadway and his plane, got from Naples to New York without refuelling, and if he can explain how not one but 2 flight manifests went missing." The judge says with a stern look at Mr Johnson.

Nathan frowns "I don't know how the manifests went missing; the records of the flight are in my pilot log book." He points towards one of the exhibits, the dark leather book showing miles flown and the maintenance history that every plane is required to have. "As for the fuel, I flew to Rome and refuelled there."

Charlotte chuckles "So if we contact that airport they'll have a record?"

Nathan nods enthusiastically "It was the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport."

Charlotte nods "I'm finished with that line of questioning, I only have a couple more for you then you're free to go."

Nathan nods, sighing slightly in relief.

Charlotte returns to her desk again and picks up a page, the blown up page almost 4 feet square. Holding it towards herself she smiles kindly at Nathan "You were in Canada on the night of July 13th, correct?"

Nathan nods and she slowly turns the page around, revealing it to be a newspaper page blown up "Then can you please explain how photos containing you and your 5 passengers ended up in a photo article regarding an all-night event on the 13th?"

Nathan shrugs "The time difference."

Charlotte looks at him through the top of her eyes "The event I'm talking about starts at approximately 8pm Italy time, 2pm Canadian time and runs through till 6am the following morning, midnight in Canada, which would be midnight on the 13th, when you were apparently already in Canada. How did this happen?"

Nathan shrugs again "I don't know."

Charlotte shrugs "So we have missing manifests, thousands of dollars' worth of fuel that magically appeared, and a pilot who is in an entirely different country to where he claims to be. It's not at all possible that you didn't in fact fly Mr Turner anywhere?"

"Objection!" Johnson jumps to his feet again, his face screwed up as Charlotte calmly walks back to her table.

"Withdrawn. I'm finished with this witness." She says sitting down.

The judge looks over at Johnson and lifts an eyebrow "Would you like to Redirect?"

He shakes his head and watches as the judge excuses Nathan, who glares at me as he walks past before sliding into the row with Katrina and his brother.

Johnson stands up and walks back around the front of his table, calling Craig's mother as his second witness. While she's being put under oath and settling into her seat I take a long look at her, she certainly looks like she's been worried about her son. There are deep grooves around her eyes and even sitting she's wringing her hands or picking at her finger nails.

"Please state your name and relationship to the defendant for the record."

"Deirdre Turner, I'm Craig's mother." She says, leaning closer to the microphone.

"Thank you Mrs Turner."

"Tell me, what did you think of Sarah and Craig's relationship?"

Deirdre smiles softly "I thought they were very lucky to have found each other so young. They were soul mates, the perfect balance of each other. While Craig could be a bit impulsive and over-emotional Sarah was very relaxed and methodical."

"What did you think when you found out Sarah was missing?" Johnson asks, sitting on his desk.

"I was worried about her, of course, she was my future daughter-in-law and I was concerned for her health and safety." Deirdre replies, looking over at me with a mixture of concern and anger in her eyes.

"Yet you chose not to tell your son, her boyfriend, that she was missing?"

Deirdre nods "We did, mainly because between his father and myself, and Sarah's friends, we already had an extensive search group looking for her, and when they found his car I knew he'd become a suspect."

"Would it not have made sense to bring him back the minute she went missing, or when you found he was a suspect, so that he could clear his name?"

Deirdre shrugs "In hindsight, yes. We should have rung him the day that Sarah's friend Alice rang to find out where they'd gone, we did tell her then that Craig was in Canada, and not anywhere with Sarah."

Al grunts in disbelief behind me, the sound of Juice whispering soothing words reaching my ears a second later.

"You referred to Sarah as your future Daughter-in-law, had they gotten engaged?"

Deirdre shakes her head "No, but Craig was going to propose when he returned from his trip. He asked me the day before he left to get my mothers' engagement ring out of the safe at the bank for him. He'd planned to take Sarah on a hot air balloon ride and ask her to be his wife."

I just about snort at that but instead my fingers tighten around Jax's till he pulls my hand up to his lips and kisses my knuckles lightly, whispering "Relax babe." against my skin. Charlotte turns around in her seat and lifts an eyebrow waiting till I lean closer to her.

"If Craig had tried to take me on a balloon ride he would have been disappointed, I couldn't fly without sleeping pills till recently. I had a horrible phobia of flying after Mom and Dad died. He knew that, he tried to spring a surprise trip to Mexico on me once and I couldn't even get on the plane." Charlotte nods, making a note in front of her and turning back to the front where Deirdre is explaining how they'd organised the search.

"William and I hired a couple of private detectives to search while the children and Sarah's friends were searching as well."

"And was any trace of her found?" Johnson asks, wandering slowly in front of the jury box.

"No, they never found any information about where she was until the day she was admitted to the hospital, the detectives didn't find that out till 2 days later, after Craig had already been arrested."

"How did you deal with your son being charged, and found guilty of what he was accused?"

Deirdre shakes her head "I knew it was all a huge misunderstanding and if I could talk to Sarah that she'd be able to sort it all out for me, but her friends wouldn't let me, or anyone else related to my son, near her at all. When Sarah finally returned to New York I thought I'd be able to see her and we could talk but when I went to her apartment building I was told I was not allowed there and if I, or anyone else related to Craig, came back we'd be trespassed."

Al and Cam both sigh behind me and I shake my head so they don't worry about it, I knew that Deirdre had been trying to see me, and I'd told the security in the building myself that no one with any connection to Craig was allowed in the building.

"So your son was incarcerated and the person who could have gotten him freed was blocking all attempts at contact?" Johnson says and Deirdre nods and he continues "Did you attempt any other ways of contacting Mrs Teller?"

"I went through both Miss Lane and Miss Franklin and her lawyer. Each time I was told that the message would be passed on but I never heard back."

"And while you were doing all of this you were also travelling to Maine to visit your son?"

Deirdre nods again "William and I were both going every weekend to see him to update him with the appeals, none of which went anywhere."

"Just one more question. Do you think your son is capable of the things he was accused of?"

"Objection!" Charlotte jumps to her feet "No parent is going to believe that their child is capable of any crimes, let alone the ones that Mr Turner is accused of here."

"Withdrawn." Johnson smiles at Deirdre in "Thank you, no further questions." Johnson says, sitting back down while Charlotte gets to her feet slowly.

"Mrs Turner, I only have a couple of questions for you." Stepping around her desk Charlotte leans against the front of it and smiles softly at Craig's mother "Did you know how Sarah's parents died?"

Deirdre nods "They were killed in a plane crash when she was a child." 

"So it should come as no surprise to you that until very recently Sarah was unable to fly without being sedated. Craig Turner was well aware of Sarah's phobia of flying and for him to plan a proposal including anything in the air is a little odd."

Deirdre frowns "I wasn't aware of her fear of flying; she came to Cabo with us once and flew without problems."

Charlotte looks over at me and I shake my head "Just one moment."

Returning to her desk she leans down "I was sedated during that flight, we were there for 2 weeks and for the first 48 hours I didn't leave our room while the medication wore off. Craig covered for me by telling them I was jet lagged."

"Can you get proof?" Charlotte whispers back and I nod, it'll take me one phone call and my doctors will send over the list of medications and when they were given. I only ever asked for the sedatives when I was flying.

Charlotte stands back up "Sorry about that. Sarah just told me that she was sedated for that flight, and the 2 days following she was getting over the after effects. Do you remember her being not herself?"

Deirdre shakes her head "The first couple of days she suffered very bad jet lag which was strange in itself as they are only a couple of hours apart. We didn't see her till the third day we were there when she was still quiet sleepy and a little off her food."

Rolling my eyes I nod once, those were the side effects I had every time I took a sedative, that and being unable to stand sunlight for the first 24 hours afterwards.

"You said your son could be over-emotional, can you explain that please?" Charlotte asks, perching on the edge of her table again.

Deirdre smiles "Of course. Craig tended to fall in love very fast, and very hard. He didn't take rejection or heart break very well. When Sarah broke up with him the first time he spent the following three days in his apartment crying constantly and refusing to eat. He'd cry till he passed out, then when he woke up again he'd cry more. When they got back together Craig was ecstatic, he was sure that Sarah had realised what a mistake it was breaking up in the first place and he was determined to make her see they were perfect together."

"Thank you, no more questions." Charlotte sits down and again Johnson refuses the right to redirect.

"We'll take recess now for lunch. Convene back here in 1 hour." The judge says before Johnson can call his next witness.

Charlotte gets to her feet and gestures the junior towards the door "Go check out the reporter ratio out there."

The young man hurries towards the door, returning a couple of minutes later "There's four out there, but they're all gathered around some sports guy who got busted for drunk driving. If we leave now we should be okay."

Derek looks up from his phone "Joe can be here in six minutes with a car."

I shake my head "No, if I can get away with walking out of here today then I want to. Four reporters I think we can deal with, there are 10 of us after all."

Derek nods, putting his phone back into his pocket "Okay. Joe is on call at the hotel if you change your mind. Trish had ordered lunch; it will be at the conference room in 10 minutes."

The 10 of us make the short walk back to the hotel, going straight to the conference room where I spend the first 15 minutes hugging Abel and giving him a bottle after draping my front with a hotel towel.

Jax drags me back to the present by shoving a plate in front of me with a smile. "Sarah you need to eat something."

I nod, frowning at the plate in front of me "Is there any wontons?"

Al laughs, pushing the container towards me "I may have eaten a few."

Poking my tongue out at her I eat a couple of wontons and some chicken and noodles from the Chinese place next door to the hotel. Charlotte finishes her plate of shrimp and rice, pushing it away and popping a breath mint in her mouth with an offhand comment about talking to the jury with fish breath being a bad move, then thanking Trish for taking into account that she's a Pescetarian.

Charlotte picks up her papers and looks over "So we can probably guess that the afternoon witnesses will be William, Katrina and maybe either Alice or Camryn if Johnson can get to you as well. It'll be tomorrow morning at the earliest before he's done with his witnesses. Of course with him having both Camryn and Alice on his lists I can ask my questions when I cross-examine you."

The pair of my friends nods in agreement "Then that just has me with 6 other witnesses."

I nod and Jax frowns "Who? You've told us who the scumbag has but not who you're bringing in."

Charlotte picks up one of the loose pages. "Sorry. So Johnson had, pilot, parents, sibling, Al and Cam. I've got Al and Cam obviously who will do more for my case then his. Dr Connor, the ER doctor Dr Hanson, the psychiatrist Brett, who is the manager of Lumiere and Tony, the captain of the boat Craig worked on in York. I think that he's going to ask the same questions to Mr Turner as he did Mrs."

I shake my head "That would be rather pointless. I only met William about a dozen times in the whole time I was with Craig. Deirdre I saw at least once a month."

Charlotte notes that down "How was your relationship with him?"

"Strained. He didn't like me from the minute we met. For some reason he was convinced I was a gold digger. He told me so once. He said that the only attraction I had to Craig was to his bank balance." I shake my head again "I just about laughed out loud, but at that stage Craig didn't even know what I was worth."

Charlotte hums and writes something else down before looking over "Trish, if I need you are you able to come?"

She nods "I can, but I'm not sure what I can say that others can't say."

"You can testify to Sarah's inability to be left alone after her return to New York."

Trish nods "So can Al, Cam, Derek, Terry and Joe in that case."

"Who are the last two?" Charlotte asks.

"Joe, our driver, he drove her around for the first 6 months after she came home when she couldn't even be in a car by herself. Terry's our chef; the pair of them spent lots of days together. Amy can say the same, she's our housekeeper."

Charlotte nods "We can always bring them in if we have to. At this stage I don't think we'll need any off you." Glancing at her watch she stands up "We should probably head back now just in case there is a mob there."

Getting back into the court room is a just as easy as it was when we were leaving, the sportsman who had captured the attention of the reporters is gone and the 10 of us get some raised eyebrows as we come through the doors, but with none of us recognisable at all we make it to the door of the courtroom without fuss.

Johnson is already back and in his seat, twisted around and facing Craig's family talking in a low voice that doesn't carry around the empty room.

Charlotte changes our seating arrangement, putting Cam and Al on the ends in case they are called for questioning in the afternoon session, even though she's pretty sure only one will make it up there today.

When the judge comes back in we all do our Jack-in-the-box impersonations till she's seated again and brings the court back to order, turning control back to the defence.

Johnson stands up and smiles politely at the jury "My next witness is William Turner."

Craig's dad stands up and walks towards the witness box, the limp from his artificial lower leg more pronounced today and I know that he's hamming it up hoping for sympathy.

Sitting down heavily once he's sworn in he makes a great show of adjusting his leg for several seconds before looking up "Sorry Kyle, having a few issues with the fake leg."

Nodding Johnson looks towards the jury briefly "That's quiet alright William, take your time, make sure you're comfortable."

Charlotte turns to me and lifts her eyes towards the roof with a snicker. I'd filled her in on the prosthetic, how long he'd had it and all the other information I could think of in case it came up somehow.

William leans back and nods towards the lawyer who clears his throat "Please state your name and relationship to the defendant for the record."

"William Turner, Craig is my son." He replies with a smile at his wife.

Johnson takes what has become his normal position leaning against his table and continues his questions. "What did you think of Sarah and Craig's relationship?"

William stops to think for a few seconds of complete silence "I thought it was a bit rushed, but they were happy every time I saw them."

"What did you think when you found out Sarah was missing?"

"I thought she might have gone back to Florida to visit her parents' graves, or to California where she lived before coming to New York. It wasn't till she had been missing for a week that I started to become concerned."

"Can you explain why you and your wife chose not to tell your son that she was missing?"

"Deirdre hired a private detective when Sarah had been missing for 4 days, then the second one after 2 weeks with no word. I didn't see the point in bringing Craig home from a very overdue holiday and reunion with family he hadn't seen when we already had plenty of people looking for her."

"Did you ever go out and look?"

William shakes his head sadly "No, unfortunately due to my limitations with the prosthetic leg I couldn't be much help. I stayed at home and co-ordinated our search efforts, which were hampered by Sarah's friends refusing to share any of their information."

Johnson looks towards Al and Cam and shakes his head sadly, turning back to William "Were you aware of your son's intentions to marry Sarah?"

"No. I knew that he'd asked his mother to get his grandmothers ring from the safe, but our last conversation Craig had assured me he was going to wait at least a year before proposing."

"And what did you think of that idea?"

"I agreed with it. They'd had a rocky few months and needed to be sure they wanted to be together before they took a commitment like marriage on."

"How did you deal with your son being charged, and found guilty of what he was accused?"

"I suppose I didn't deal well, it's hard to believe that your son could be capable of the things he was accused of, not that I actually believe that he did any of those horrible things. The trial he had was so short neither his mother nor I could get there. Reading the transcript I can understand why. He was found guilty before he even got on the stand thanks to testimony from locals."

"Objection. The witness is assuming." Charlotte says.

The judge nods and looks towards the jury "You will disregard that last comment."

"Final question William. Did you ever attempt to contact Sarah or any of her friends while she was missing?"

He nods "We tried Sarah's phone daily for the first 3 weeks and her friends every 3 or 4 days after the second week, but as I said, they never shared any information and refused to speak to us about anything."

"Thank you, that's all." Johnson sits back down and leans against the back of his chair as Charlotte gets up and starts walking slowly in front of the jury box.

"How well would you say you knew Sarah?"

William shrugs, looking over at me "Not well, we didn't see each other very much. I was often busy with work when she would come to the house to see my wife. From what I knew she was a nice girl with her head firmly attached."

"You said that you thought their relationship was rushed, why?" Charlotte asks, turning her gaze to Craig's father.

"Well, they just seemed to go through steps very fast. They hadn't been together long when Craig was asking her to move in with him. Then they hit a rocky patch and it seemed that their relationship was over, but when they reunited things went back to moving fast."

Charlotte nods "How long were they together?"

William shrugs once more "I don't know maybe a year in total."

Charlotte shakes her head "Your son and Sarah were together over 2 and a half years. It was over a year and a half after they met that Craig started asking Sarah to move in with him, something she continually refused as where she lived was perfect for her location wise."

Johnson stands up "Objection, relevance?"

Charlotte turns around "I was simply bringing it to Mr Turner's attention that their relationship was substantially longer than he thought."

The judge nods "I'll allow it. Miss Taylor, do you have any further questions?"

Charlotte nods "Just a couple Ma'am." Looking back to William she smiles kindly once more "You said your prosthesis made it hard for you to join the search parties looking for Sarah?"

William nods and she picks up a piece of paper "Yet you were able to compete in the New York marathon 2 months after Sarah escaped her captivity. What changed in those months?"

"Objection. What happened in the witness's life during those months has nothing to do with his disability or inability to join the search parties."

"Sustained." The judge says and Charlotte nods, she'd told me that at least one of her questions would go like that and the only reason she was saying it was to get the jury to realise that there were a lot of holes in the Turners stories.

"Final question. Did you ever discuss with your wife, or son that you thought Sarah was nothing but a gold digger, as you accused her on at least one occasion?"

William pales, his eyes darting to his wife who sits up in her seat "No. I never told anyone I was concerned about Sarah's intentions. As I said, I thought their relationship was rushed and I always thought it was her rushing it to get to Craig's inheritance."

Charlotte nods "No further questions your honour."

"Mr Johnson, would you like to redirect?"

He nods and stands up "Towards the end of their relationship, did you still think Sarah was a gold digger?"

William laughs, shaking his head "No. Not at all."

"Why?"

"She finally shared information regarding her financial situation with our son who told us that _he_ was more concerned about being seen as after her money."

"Thank you, that's all."

William steps down, making a show of limping back to his seat while Kyle sits quietly waiting. Once William is seated he turns towards the judge "My next witness is Katrina Turner."

It seems obvious from his third of Craig's family members that for them he has a specific script he's sticking to. The same base questions are asked again and Katrina rattles off fairly boring answers.

"Please state your name and relationship to the defendant for the record."

"Katrina Turner, Craig was my older brother."

"What did you think of Sarah and Craig's relationship?"

"I thought they were great together. Craig and Sarah had what I have with my husband and like Mom I was happy they'd found each other so young."

"What did you think when you found out Sarah was missing?"

"I was worried about her, and how it would make Craig feel when he came back and found out she went missing while he was away having fun."

"Did you agree with your parents' choice not to tell him?"

"No. I thought they should have told him the first chance they had."

"How did you deal with your brother being charged, and found guilty of what he was accused?"

"I knew he was innocent of all charges and he'd be freed when he could tell his side of what happened, and show his supporting evidence."

"Final question. Did you ever attempt to contact Sarah, or any of her friends?"

"Not really. I knew that Mom and Dad weren't having any luck so I didn't think I would either. I left a couple of messages at the building front desk and one with her lawyer and figured that if she wanted to talk to me then she'd get hold of me."

"Thank you." Johnson sits back down and Charlotte stands up quietly thinking.

"I only have a couple of questions for you. You said that Craig _was_ your older brother. Why did you use a past tense?"

Katrina narrows her eyes at me "Because he's dead."

"How do you know this?" Charlotte asks.

"I don't know it, but I know my brother. He didn't do any of the things she accused him of, he wouldn't disappear without telling someone where he was going and he would not stay out of contact this long."

Charlotte hums "So you knew your brother very well?"

Katrina nods "Being so close in age we were best friends when we were children."

"So you knew about his battle with substance abuse?"

Katrina sighs "Yes. I was the one that got him into rehab."

"And would it surprise you that when he was arrested in Maine he was intoxicated and the blood screen they did showed high enough levels of alcohol and cocaine that he shouldn't have been able to walk?" 

Katrina's mouth snaps closed so fast the echo of her teeth hitting each other sounds in the room.

Charlotte waits for almost a whole minute "Well?"

Katrina shakes her head "I didn't know he was using again. He swore every time we spoke to him that he was clean."

Charlotte steps back to her table "So maybe you didn't know you brother as well as you though?"

Katrina drops her head into her hands, nodding "It seems I didn't."

"And how would you describe your relationship with Sarah?"

Katrina spares one short look over at me "I thought we were friends till she accused my brother of all these things then vanished into the wind before anything could be cleared up."

Johnson takes his chance and asks her one more question "During his time in Canada and then searching for Sarah how often did you speak to each other?"

"Every second day." She replies with a frown, killing any chance he had of suggesting that they hadn't spoken in a while and the using was a really new thing when he was arrested.

Johnson glances at the clock then at the jury "I only have one more witness for today."

Al and Cam both lean forward, knowing it's going to be one of them that get called seeing they are the last two names on his list.

"I call Alice Lane to the witness stand."

Cam leans back in her seat as Al gets to her feet, walking through the little gate towards the stand; just before she can walk past me I grab her hand and press a bracelet into her fingertips. Looking down she smiles at me and clenches her fist around it.

After being sworn in she casually leans back into the chair and crosses her legs in front of her.

"Please state your name and relationship to the defendant for the record."

Al smiles over at me "My name is Alice Lane; I'm one of Sarah Teller's best friends."

"One of?"

Al lifts an eyebrow "Yes."

"Okay. What did you think of Sarah and Craig's relationship?"

Al shrugs "I thought they were good together at first…" The rest of her sentence is cut off when Johnson clears his throat and moves straight on to his next question.

"What did you think when you found out Sarah was missing?"

"Cam, Camryn Franklin, and I were the ones to report her missing when she didn't come back in time to go back to work. We started searching for her the day we filed the report."

"Was it normal for Sarah to vanish for long periods of time?"

She'd always go away for a few days in February, right around the time her parents died. Cam and I both assumed she went back to see their graves, we never asked where she went but she was always back within 3 days at the most, so when she was three days late coming back we knew something was wrong."

"And how were you searching for her?"

Al frowns "We were actually searching for both her and Craig. We'd told the police that the last person she was with was Craig, seeing that's what we knew. Derek, Cam's father had organised a search team that started in New York and then went through to Vermont."

"Did you ever try and get hold of Craig while Sarah was missing?"

Al nods "I tried him a few times in the first couple of days. I left four messages asking him to ring me before I left one telling him Sarah was missing and the last thing we knew was that she was going away with him. I never heard back from any of them."

"Did you find any traces of either of them?"

Al shakes her head "No, there was nothing found on either of their bank cards, neither of their phones would work so we could try and find them through the GPS's on them and when Craig's car was found burnt out in Vermont the detectives moved their search to around that area."

"Were you concerned about Craig's welfare?"

Al nods and coughs a little "I was, he was the last person who'd been seen with my best friend and I thought if we could find him we'd find her."

"Did you think Craig was capable of what he was accused?"

Al frowns sounding very thoughtful as she speaks "I don't know, I wouldn't have thought so initially, but by the end of their relationship I guess it was possible."

"Thank you. That's all."

Charlotte stands up and passes Al her water bottle which she accepts with thanks.

"You said you liked Sarah and Craig together, at first can you expand on that."

Al drinks a few mouthfuls of water and nods "I'm a tattoo artist by trade, Sarah missed her home town and missed California and wanted something to represent the town on her body, I started with a very small band around her ankle before she decided that it wasn't enough and we designed a sleeve."

"Sorry, a what?"

Al lifts one of her arms, the singlet style top exposing both her arms "A sleeve is a tattoo that goes from shoulder to wrist, like the sleeve of a shirt." Running her hand over the birds on her arm, from the sparrow on her shoulder to the hummingbird on her forearm. "The sleeve made it very clear the problems in their relationship were more than bickering over who left the milk on the bench and the cap off the toothpaste and my opinion of Craig became very much the opposite of what it had started as."

"Why did your opinion change so rapidly?"

"The day I started on Sarah's sleeve Craig started insulting her, telling her she was making herself look low class and that she'd have to wear long sleeves around him all the time because he didn't like how she was defacing herself with the tattoos. He began trying to control what she would wear, he tried to destroy a lot of her clothes which Cam and I managed to save and I moved them to my apartment."

Charlotte nods "And did they fight?"

Al shakes her head "Not really, well not around me but I always knew that Sarah was biting her lip. I stopped having much contact with her when he was around, mainly so she didn't have to keep the peace."

"Why would she have done that?" Charlotte asks.

"Her best friend didn't like her boyfriend, and vice versa. Neither of us tried to hide our dislike of each other and it made it quite strained for her."

"What led to her leaving New York so suddenly?"

Al shudders and looks down at the bracelet I pressed into her hands "Fear for her safety is what made her leave."

"Why did she fear for her safety?"

"Cam found a headless cat in front of their door. I had the head nailed to my door. We decided that she obviously wasn't safe and she decided she needed to leave town. She left that afternoon with what she could pack in her car and headed to California."

"What was in California?"

Al holds up the bracelet in her hand "Family. Her family was in Cali, the people that took her in when she was orphaned at 12, the ones that looked after her till she was 18 when she moved to New York."

"And she stayed in California?"

Al nods "She did."

"Three more questions Miss Lane, and then I'm done." 

Al nods and smiles cheerfully "Okay."

"How would you describe Mrs Teller's mental state when she left New York?"

Al looks over at me and frowns "Sorry S. She was a wreck. She hadn't slept in weeks; when she did sleep she'd wake up in the middle of the night screaming in fear. She was barely eating; we had to force her to eat once a day so she wouldn't pass out. Cam and I were considering moving her into Cam's father's house so we could have someone with her 24/7, even though Cam was there for at least 10 hours a day and I was there for at least 10, there was a few hours each day where neither of us could be with her and we were worried that something would happen to her and she'd loose what control of herself she had."

Turning to the jury Charlotte lifts a copy of my firearms licence from the table "Mrs Teller was licenced to carry a concealed weapon prior to her hospitalisation, during the period she was undergoing psychiatric assessment this was suspended, but subsequently returned to her. Did you fear that Mrs Teller would harm herself?"

Al shakes her head furiously "No. Cam and I never worried about that, Sarah handed over her weapon the day she came back from the hospital and Cam moved all of hers to my apartment and I changed the combination on both my safes, at Sarah's request, even though, in her words, she knew she'd never take a cowards way out of her issues."

"And my final question, how would you rate her mental state now."

Al smiles hugely "She's happier than I've ever seen her in the whole four years I've known her. She can't stop smiling most of the time and she's got this aura around her that makes the people that love her happy in themselves."

"No further questions your honour." Charlotte says, returning to her seat with a bright smile at me.

Johnson stands back up "I only have one further question. Mrs Tellers gun licence. What happened to it?"

Al groans "After granting her a temporary licence till they could completely assess her application the State of California denied her request to keep her licence on the grounds of her mental stability."

"Thank you." Johnson sits back down but Al leans forwards.

"The state of California denied her request to keep her licence on the grounds of mental stability _without _reading any of the reports that had been sent by Sarah's shrink, or the retired Lieutenant Colonel from the United States army that put us through our training with weapons swearing that he would never be concerned about her and her handling of a weapon." Al stands up and walks down through the gates, all but falling into Juice's arms while the judge closes the case for the day, letting us know that the trial will re-convene in the morning at 9am and once again ordering Kyle Johnson to find his client.

AN: I know that was a lot of stuff in one chapter, and there is still Cam's testimony and the entire of the prosecution to go.


	60. Chapter 60

CHAPTER SIXTY

Thank you for all the reviews from the last chapter! It did take me a while to write. The next court based chapter is chapter 62. Health update: I'm doing okay, not taking codine anymore, only paracetamol when needed which is about twice a day. Have managed 2 outings in the last 2 days, granted they were to refill the pantry and the freezer but after four days I was already starting to suffer cabin fever. Still have another 8 days till I'm back at work.

Returning to the hotel after the first day of the trial isn't as easy as it was during lunch. Apparently sometime in the afternoon session word had gotten out that the trial had been moved forwards. Because of the fact that one of the witnesses was from a very high powered family (Cam) it became news in the first place and once the full charges against Craig had become known it became a circus.

Stepping out onto the front steps Derek looks down and spots Joe in the Suburban at the curb, ushering us down the steps Charlotte stays at the top and my simple statement of 'No Comment.' Is repeated at least 15 times as we decent the stairs. Once Donna, Al, Cam and I are in the car Joe pulls away from the curb ignoring my startled squeak about leaving everyone else behind.

Joe shakes his head "Boss man said you girls needed a ride, the rest of them are big boys, they'll be fine."

I snort "Until they realise one of those 'boys' shares the same last name as me. Jax'll be mobbed."

Joe's phone goes off 10 minutes after we left the court room. "Sir." He says, hitting the speaker phone "I'm taking a very round-about route to the hotel."

"Good. The reporters descended on Charlotte like vultures on a carcass when the girls left. We'll need you tomorrow, all four trips."

"Certainly Sir." Joe says. "We're just pulling up in front of the hotel now; they'll be up to the floor shortly."

"Send them straight to my suite please Joe."

"Yes Sir." Joe disconnects the call as he pulls to the curb "You heard him, up to his suite."

I nod, leaning forwards in my seat "Sorry about this."

Joe laughs "Don't apologise, this is all part of the job. Besides, I get a couple of nights in a hotel in the middle of town as a bonus."

We all laugh as Cam throws the door open "See you at dinner?"

Joe shakes his head with a chuckle "No, I'm also enjoying the room service, the bath that could fit four people and the bed so soft it's like sleeping on a cloud."

Cam laughs while we get out of the car "Okay then."

Walking inside we go straight to the elevator and up to Derek's room where Trish is sitting on the end of the bed, Kenny and Ellie watching TV in the corner and Abel asleep in his borrowed crib at the end of the bed.

The kids look up hearing the door open Ellie running towards us "Mommy! We had so much fun. Trish took us to some store with a giant piano on the floor and brought us some toys."

Donna lifts her eyebrow at Trish who shrugs unapologetically "I took them to FAO Schwartz this afternoon. They each got two books and one toy. I didn't think it would be a problem."

Donna shrugs "It's okay, but no more toys."

Trish sighs dramatically "Okay. Tomorrow we're going to Central Park Zoo."

There's a knock at the door and Al who's leaning by the door opens it letting the guys in "We came the long way too. Charlotte's not far behind us."

Charlotte appears at the door with a frown, carrying in the trays of coffee she sets them on the bench "I figured a peace offering might help what I'm about to say."

"What?" I say as she hands me a cup, the Starbucks logo on the side something I haven't seen in a while.

"Johnson caught me just before I left the courthouse. He's added a witness for tomorrow."

I shrug "So?" Walking towards the bed I sit down on the edge and lean over Abel's crib, smiling at the soft plane that Trish brought him.

"It's Craig."

I'm not the only one whose head snaps in her direction. None of us say a word but I can read the expressions of shock on everyone's faces that knows there is no way on earth that Craig could be there tomorrow.

Charlotte says nothing, watching my expressions cycle through a range of things before settling on confusion.

"How?" It's the only word that I can find to say.

Charlotte shrugs "No idea, apparently he _finally_ got hold of him today; he'd been hiding out in in some town in Connecticut. His excuse was that he didn't want to be lynched or attacked by any of Sarah's friends so he went out of state till the trial. Which he never found out was moved forwards."

I nod, my brain trying to work out what the fuck Craig's family, and his lawyer are playing at and how it's possible for a dead man to appear in a court room on the other side of the country to where he was last seen breathing.

Sharing a glance with Happy he shrugs one shoulder and gives me a look that plainly says he knows how much bullshit that statement is.

Charlotte sits down on one of the seats "I'm not really sure what Johnson's playing at anyway. His witnesses have done nothing to prove that Craig is innocent."

I shrug "I fully expect him to try and make me look like a delusional liar when he gets to question me."

"I expect so. I don't think he'll be as easy on you as he has been on everyone else." Charlotte says, getting back to her feet.

Nodding I take a sip of my drink as Charlotte opens the door, leaving the rest of the coffees on the table "Help yourself to those, top tray is lattes, bottom is flat whites. Didn't see you guys as low fat soy latte with extra foam drinking people. See you tomorrow at the courthouse."

She leaves the room and thankfully Donna manages to turn the conversation with Trish to the kids and how they behaved during the day. Jax, Opie, Happy and Juice gather in one corner talking in low tones till Jax looks over at me and jerks his head at me.

Stepping between him and Opie he rests his arm over my shoulders "Sarah babe, did Craig have any relatives that looked like him?"

I shake my head "Just one cousin who kinda did when they were kids but by the time they were adults there was a good 8 inches difference in height and Brad, the cousin, got into body mods."

"Body mods?"

I nod, grimacing slightly "Yeah. Tattoos and piercings I get and he had lots of those but he also had those ear stretching things, and he got horns implanted in his forehead." 

"The fuck?" Opie says with a confused look.

"He had artificial horns implanted under the skin on his forehead."

"That's fucked up." Happy says with a chuckle.

"Yep."

"Thanks babe. We'll be done here soon." Jax says, kissing the side of my head.


	61. Chapter 61

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

After eating dinner in Derek and Trish's room Abel starts getting a bit grumpy at 7pm so Jax and I take him down the hall to put him to bed for the night, Jax convinces me to have a bath and go to bed knowing that the day we've just had, and the one to come will be emotionally draining but while he's filling the bath for me I use the time to ring Patrick and remind him we're in town.

Getting hold of him at his office at 715 on a weeknight isn't unusual but when he tells me he needs to meet with me when I have a chance I'm immediately suspicious.

"Why?"

"Cause I have information about that email you forwarded but I need to give it to you in person."

"Okay. Umm, when?"

"Monday is fine. I've got free time from 9am till lunch if you want to come in then, we can go over the other stuff with your accounts as well while you're here."

"Sure, clear your morning for me." I reply with a laugh "That way I can get 6 months' worth of legal stuff over with now."

"Sure thing. See you Monday." Patrick says and disconnects the call as the bathroom door opens.

"Baby we have to go see Patrick on Monday." I say before he can ask who I was talking to. "He found out about that photo I told you about."

"Which one?" Jax says, pulling me to my feet and starting to tug my clothes off me.

Laughing as I undo the buttons of my shirt "That one that I was sent while you were in Indian Hills that you didn't want to see."

Jax frowns slightly as he thinks "Oh, the blonde?"

I nod "Yeah, the random blonde who was being impaled by your dick."

Jax laughs at my expression "That I still don't remember."

Reaching behind myself I undo my skirt and let it drop to the floor, stepping out of it "I know you don't baby. But god help you, and them, if anyone else thinks they're gonna get to ride Jax Teller, or his bike, all they'll get is one way trip to the morgue."

Jax laughs, following me through to the bathroom "That's kinda hot in a disturbing way, but not as hot as the whole white clothing stuff you had today."

I shake my head, turning around "Why was white hot?"

Jax steps closer to me, backing me up till I'm leaning against the counter "The whole virginal white pure sweet innocent thing while I know exactly what you're like behind closed doors."

Looking up into his eyes I can see there's a level of desire there, but he's not in one of his 'must claim, mark, possess' moods that he had been in the days before our trip. "So I shouldn't wear white?"

Jax shakes his head and leans down, using his nose to move my bra strap off my shoulder. "No, you should wear it whenever you like."

"But be prepared for the filthy thoughts you have needing an outlet?"

Jax nods, smiling against my skin as he peppers my shoulder with kisses "Exactly. But for right now you need to get yourself in the bath. I need to go talk to Hap some more, but I'll be right next door if you need me."

I nod and wiggle out of my underwear, stepping into the hot water with a grateful sigh.

Jax comes back in about 20 minutes later, holding a squirming Abel in his arms, a bottle in the other hand "How do you work that warmer thing?"

I giggle and look at the bottle in his hand "Turn the warmer on and leave the bottle in there for about 10 minutes. Was there not one in there already?" I was sure I'd put one in there while I was talking to Patrick.

"Don't know, didn't look." Jax says with a shrug. Looking back out the door he chuckles "There's one in there."

"Sweet. Put the one you've got in your hand in the warmer and turn the temperature right down and the one in there should be the right temperature."

Jax disappears back into the room, returning with the warm bottle in his hands and sits down on the closed lid of the toilet while Abel drinks the warmed milk. "You feeling a bit better?"

I nod "But what the fuck is Johnson thinking? How does he think a dead man is going to be able to take the stand?"

"Dunno babe. Ope recons he's doing it to freak you out and unsettle you before your testimony."

I shrug, the water moving in the tub "It worked."

Abel gets half way through the bottle before turning his head towards his daddy and burping wetly, a splatter of spilt milk landing on Jax's shirt and pants.

Jax looks down with a grimace "That's really gross little man, now I'm chucked on and you're all gooey."

I can't help but laugh, sinking my head under the water when Jax turns his glare to me. Lifting my head out of the bath a couple of seconds later I snicker at Jax who's holding Abel at arm's length "How bout we get your clothes off and you get in the bath with Mommy while I take my now vomited clothes off?"

Watching Jax struggle to undress Abel without getting more of the milky liquid on himself has me biting my lips "Put your shirt in the basin, I'll rinse it and get Trish to have it and your pants put through the laundry service tomorrow otherwise they'll smell forever and I'll be throwing them out and I just brought them."

Jax mock salutes with one hand as he finally gets Abel out of his footie pyjamas, singlet and diaper, handing the now naked baby to me he laughs when the first thing Abel does is wrap his hand around my wrist, the slimy digits of his fingers slipping against my skin in an awful feeling.

10 minutes later he's clean, I'm clean the floor of the bathroom is wet and there are three towels down on the floor soaking up some of the water but Abel is smiling happily and we've got the fourth towel wrapped around us, leaving one for Jax to use when he's done with the shower he's heading to once the water from the bath is empty.

Abel happily sucks down the bottle that Jax had put in the warmer and I make a mental note to ask Trish if she could get the other ones sterilised in the hotel kitchen. After burping him I'm settling his now sleeping body back into his bed when Jax comes through the door behind me "Shirts in the skin babe."

I nod absently, pulling the soft blanket over Abel's legs and chest, but leaving his arms free "Don't know what he didn't like about that bottle." I murmur quietly turning around and finding Jax right behind me.

"Mommy didn't give it to him." Jax replies with a one armed shrug, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to his chest. "But I think it's time you went to bed. You've been chewing on your lips since Charlotte told you that Craig would be there tomorrow, even if you _know_ it's not possible."

I release the pressure I wasn't aware I had on my bottom lip, tasting the coppery tang of my own blood against my tongue when I press it to what is now a very raw part of my mouth. "Ouch." I whisper.

Jax nods "Exactly."


	62. Chapter 62

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Here we go again...

Breakfast the second morning of the trial is a lot more subdued then the first morning was. Charlotte doesn't make an appearance but I knew she wasn't. Al, Cam, Donna and I are still wearing colour co-ordinated outfits, having decided that while we're not going to cover up tattoos, take out piercings or change who we are we'd show our 'sisterhood' by dressing in black and white through the whole trial, cause in reality this trial was black and white.

Charlotte had agreed with our reasoning and gone so far to carefully pick out outfits in the same colours, even though if asked we'd just say it was a coincidence.

Jax frowned when an article of white clothing came out of the garment bag that morning, till he realised it was a jacket to cover the black shirt and skirt I'd chosen, muttering that I was a tease.

Cam knows that she's going to end up on the stand today, but she's not sure if it will be in the morning or the afternoon so when we'd come into the conference room I'd handed her one of the two bracelets I'd picked for the day. Yesterday's one had said 'Love Family'. Today's ones are a single word each. Below the Family one I've stacked one that says "Fearless', the one handed to Cam says 'Peace', she'll need to keep it about herself while answering what are bound to be the same asinine questions Kyle Johnson asked each of his witnesses the day before.

Sure enough when we get to the courthouse and everything is brought to order Cam is the first one called to the witness stand, with Johnson explaining that Craig would be there for the afternoon session. Swearing in and sitting down Cam lifts her eyes to stare at Johnson, her blank gaze successful in making him take a step backwards.

It takes him a minute of silence to regain his composure "Please state your name and relationship to the defendant for the record."

"Camryn Franklin, I'm another one of Sarah's best friends, she has one more besides Al and I." Cam says, rushing the second half of her words to get the whole sentence out before she's cut off.

"What did you think of Sarah and Craig's relationship?"

"Like Al said yesterday at first, it was fine."

Johnson is faster this time, inserting his next question while Cam stops to take a breath. "What did you think when you found out Sarah was missing?" 

"I was worried about her safety."

"Why?"

Cam shrugs "Because I didn't trust Craig."

"On what grounds?" Johnson leans against his table, tapping his foot on the ground.

"Gut instinct. I always trust what I feel and I didn't feel right around Craig."

Johnson nods thoughtfully "But did Craig ever do anything for you to base those feelings off?"

"Besides telling Sarah that she was making herself low class with her tattoos and that she'd have to change the way she dressed around him?" Johnson nods and Cam shakes her head with a snort "No he didn't."

"Did you ever try and get hold of Craig while Sarah was missing?"

Cam shakes her head "No, Al was trying him while I was trying S, I mean Sarah. We figured that we should be able to find one and each of us took one of them as a person to locate."

"Did you ever find any trace of Sarah?"

Cam shakes her head "Not till the day I got a phone call from the local police in York, Maine telling me that someone matching the description of a missing person report I'd filed had shown up."

"Were you at all worried about Craig and his safety?"

Cam nods "I was, if they had both been abducted then his safety was a concern, if he was safe then she should have been. But likewise the other way, if he wasn't safe then neither was my friend."

"Did you think Craig was capable of what he was accused?" 

Cam shrugs "I didn't know him well enough to make that judgement."

"Thank you, that's all."

Charlotte stands up and smiles at Cam "Morning."

"Morning." Cam replies.

"You said that at first Sarah and Craig's relationship was fine, what changed?"

Cam shudders and it's not a faked motion "They talked on the phone a lot before they went on their first date and it was that that made my concern about him start."

"Why?"

"Because I could tell that Craig thought he was above Sarah, that she should have been jumping to attention whenever he asked, their first date they were going to dinner and a movie, he'd told Sarah to dress casually which she did, in jeans and a t-shirt. Craig told her that was more casual than he meant and proceeded to pick an outfit for her."

"On their first date?" Charlotte asks with a quick glance towards the jury.

"Yes. It turned out dinner and a movie was actually a premiere, which Craig didn't tell Sarah or she would have dressed differently."

"Did you voice your concerns about their relationship to Sarah?"

Cam nods "I did. She always told me that it was fine and she'd be okay."

"But you didn't stop feeling concerned?"

Cam shakes her head "No, when they broke up I was glad for Sarah, it gave her a chance to remember who she was before Craig, who she really was as a person, not half of a couple with an overbearing boyfriend."

"Objection." Johnson jumps to his feet and Cam shrugs at the judge.

The judge leans over "That is your opinion of their relationship?"

Cam nods and the judge leans back into her seat "The question was regarding the feelings of the witness about the relationship, I'll allow it."

Charlotte nods and looks back at Cam. "Did you ever see them fighting?"

Cam shakes her head "No, but Sarah is a very private person, she didn't like anyone to know any emotional battles she was having, and fighting with her boyfriend would have been something she wouldn't have wanted Al or I to know about, especially seeing neither of us particularly liked him."

"Did you have much social contact with Sarah and Craig as a couple?"

Cam nods "I did, normally at events run by my father." 

"What sort of events?" She asks and Cam looks over to where we're all sitting, her eyes casting an apologetic look at Happy.

Reaching over to the enforcer who's been sitting beside me the whole day I squeeze his hand while Cam starts talking again.

"Sarah was always invited to the benefits that my father would throw, the balls, gala's, silent auctions and such for charity. She would go as often as she could with her work schedule. Craig attended maybe four out of the 15 that were thrown during their time together. The first one he went to he was thrown out of when he grabbed a waitresses behind."

Charlotte looks over at me but I nod; that had been what had caused our first major fight. The waitress had been one of the people I'd done some of my training with and I'd gotten her the job for some extra cash so felt guilty that she was manhandled.

"And the other three?"

"The next two he was perfectly behaved, like he was expecting to be judged. Which of course he was, as a lot of the people from the first one were at those ones as well."

Charlotte nods "And the last of the benefits he attended?"

Cam clears her throat a little "It was a fundraiser for disaster relief and he drank too much, bid on something then reneged on the bid, Sarah ended up paying for it, then he told one of the auctioneers that he didn't know why we were raising money for disaster relief in countries where they needed a population cull. Sarah over heard him, made excuses for him and they left."

"Did you see much of them socially after that?"

Cam shakes her head "No, and while Craig's parents were still invited to the functions they stopped coming after that."

"So your parents and his parents ran in the same social circles?"

Cam shakes her head again "Not really. My mother died during child birth so there was only ever my father till recently. Mrs Turner met my father one day at our apartment when she was taking Sarah out for lunch and Daddy was there to do an inspection on the security in the building."

"Why would he have been doing a security inspection?"

"Because he owns 60% of the building." Cam replies. "Security is pretty tight and he wanted to make sure that it was being kept up to scratch. He and Mrs Turner got on well enough so he invited her and her husband to the next gala; they enjoyed themselves so much that he continued to invite them at my request."

"Just a couple more questions. When you heard that Sarah had been admitted to a hospital in another state what did you do?"

Cam smiles at me "I hired a helicopter and Al and I flew down there as soon as we could."

"And after that?"

"Either Al or I stayed with her 24/7 till she was released. When she came home she was with one of us for at least 20 hours a day. When things started going back to normal for Al and I with work and she still couldn't be alone she'd spend a lot of time at my father's house with the staff."

"At what stage did she become able to spend long amounts of time by herself?"

"Not till after she moved back to California. When she decided to go she worried that she wouldn't be able to handle the drive by herself so I offered to go with her but she told me she needed some time to see if she could, and she knew that I was never more than a phone call and a flight away."

"What do you mean by a flight?"

"If she'd rung and said she needed me or Al, or both of us, I would have used my father's plane and gone to wherever she was in a heartbeat."

"Why?"

"She's one of my best friends and her health, happiness and safety is as important as my own."

Charlotte nods "Thank you. No more questions."

Johnson stands up "I have a couple more questions."

Cam sighs, the motion only detectable in the rise and fall of her shoulders "Other than those galas and very highly publicised events did you have any social contact with Sarah and Craig as a couple?"

Cam shrugs "A little."

"How little?" He presses.

"We went out as a group maybe half a dozen times before people would find excuses to not come if Craig was going to be there."

"Why?" Johnson asks and I snicker behind my clenched teeth.

"Because most of the people we socialised with didn't like him. They didn't trust him and they didn't want him around them."

Johnson leans back as Cam almost spits the words at him "But Sarah continued to date Craig?"

Cam nods "Yes."

"No further questions."

Cam gets off the witness stand after being excused by the judge and she turns her attention to Johnson. "Your client?"

He makes a big show of looking down at his watch "Mr Turner should be here in the next 45 minutes."

The judge sighs, looks at her own watch "Then I'll call an early recess for lunch, reconvene in 90 minutes."

Breaking just before 11 when the session only started a little under 2 hours before is odd, but we head outside where I'm shoved into the back of the car and driven to a café almost 10 minutes' drive away.

Everyone else arrives not long behind me in cabs, three of them pulling to the curb and spilling their passengers onto the footpath. Derek looks over at the confused looking parents of the missing twins "Trish and Amy, our housekeeper, have the kids at the zoo all day so we decided not to go back to the hotel, plus the reporters might be following us."

I nod, sliding into the circle of Jax's arms while Cam mutters apologies to me and Happy.

Hearing Happy chuckle behind me I turn in Jax's arms and smile as he looks over at Cam "What on earth are you apologising for? Being someone who threw fundraisers?" Cam nods and he shares a look with Jax "Cammy, the Sons often have blood drives and toy drives for local hospitals. Don't apologise for helping those less fortunate."

Derek grins and pats Happy on the back ignoring the snickers from Opie and Juice. Without any of the kids there I'm not forced into pretending I'm okay while I pick at the food that's been pushed in front of me. Barely managing to eat four bites before everyone starts standing up again. Joe's already outside with the car, two taxis behind them. Jax, Happy and Opie end up in the car with me, Opie taking the front seat and me being squished between the pair in the back.

Glancing over at Joe Opie smiles "Don't suppose we can get you to take a scenic drive and hop out for a minute?"

Joe laughs, nodding and pulling away from the curb "Mr Franklin knows?"

Jax nods "He does. As long as we're back at the courtroom in 20 minutes we're fine. We only need about 2."

Joe drives through the relatively quiet streets, pulling over in front of a cart selling hotdogs "I'll just have a thick shake then. It's a bit warm in here."

Jax nods saying "Thanks." As Joe gets out and heads towards the vendor and his cart.

Turning to me I'm surprised when it's Happy that speaks first "Cupcake, you gotta relax. If you go in there as uptight as you are right now that slime bag defence guy is gonna know something's up and he'll rip you to shreds on the stand."

I turn my gaze to him "Sorry?"

Opie nods once "He's right S. You're acting like the worlds about to end."

I look over at Jax and lift an eyebrow "And you agree? I need to 'calm down'?" I deliberately make quote marks around my words and keep my eyes locked on Jax's blue ones.

"I do babe. That Johnson's not stupid. Well, not unintelligent, he's gonna realise something doesn't add up."

I fold my arms across my chest and look at each of them then check on Joe to make sure he's still away from the car. "Okay, then tell me this. I _know_ that Craig's not going to show up this afternoon but how exactly do you think I should be acting with the thought that the person who abducted me, abused me, raped me, tortured me, stalked me, is going to be in a court room feet away from me in less than a half hour?"

Jax leans back in his seat for a second and rubs his hand over his face "You know you've gotta point there."

Poking my tongue out at him I nod "I know I do. Do you know what I spent most of last night doing?"

Happy shakes his head "Don't wanna know."

I laugh, pulling lightly on my pony tail. "Not that Hap. I spent some of the night working out how I would feel if I didn't know Craig wasn't able to come today. Then I spent some of it working out how I would feel if it _is_ Craig today."

Opie opens his mouth to say something but I shake my head "No Ope. You had your turn, now it's mine. I'm not saying that I'm not acting myself because I know I'm not but let me ask you something Opie, Happy both of you and yes I do want an answer."

They all nod when I meet their eyes "How do you think D or Cam would be acting if they were in my shoes right now?" Turning to Jax "How should I be acting? Should I be my bubbly self even though as far as anyone not connected to you knows the person who mutilated my body and my soul is going to be feet away from me in a few minutes?"

Happy clears his throat uncomfortably when I look back at him "I don't know how Cam would be acting cupcake."

Opie drops his eyes to the floor "Don would be a zombie. I didn't even think of it terms of that I'm sorry S."

I look up and shrug, my arms still crossed over my chest "It's okay Ope." Turning to Jax I lift my eyebrow again "So?"

Jax reaches over and pulls my arms apart; resting his hands in his lap with one of mine between them "I don't expect you to be yourself babe. I know you're not going to be till this is all over, but right through lunch you didn't ask how Abel was; you didn't ring Trish to check he was okay and make sure he was keeping warm. You just sat there and stared into space, stabbing your poor sandwich with a steak knife that you picked up off Happy's plate."

"So I'm having an off day, I think all things considered I might be entitled."

Jax snickers "You know I knew you'd say that. Having an off day is perfectly acceptable babe, just as long as you remember that whoever the fuck gets up on that stand is NOT your ex, he will never hurt you, or anyone else, again. Right?"

I nod and Opie leans over to tap the horn, waving his hand for Joe to come back. "All sorted?" The calm man says climbing back in the driver's seat and starting the engine.

"Yeah, thanks man." Ope says as we pull away from the curb and head back towards the courthouse and whatever is coming.

It's an almost complete circus in front of the courthouse when we pull onto the street. Joe's phone rings and he pushes a button on the steering wheel "Hello?"

"Joe, come round the back entrance. Charlotte's waiting there with a door open for them." Derek's voice comes over the speaker "No one needs to deal with the shit those fuckers are spouting." That Derek swore twice in one sentence makes me slightly curious about what the reporters are saying but I know he'll fill me in later, if I need to know, which I probably do.

Joe pulls around the corner and immediately spots Charlotte holding open a door with her foot, the four of us are out of the car and into the courthouse before anyone notices the Mercedes that Joe had decided to use today is the same car that had swept me away before anyone could ask any asinine questions, between Joe and Derek it had been decided to use a different car each day.

The walk from the door to the courtroom is about 4 minutes of empty back corridors, while we're making the quick trip Charlotte fills me in very quickly about what had happened. Apparently some particularly clever reporter had finally managed to trace my move to California after my parents death and a whole lot of questions had been raised from that, and then my return and subsequent rapid marriage to what they had labelled one of the 'Hooligans' from small town California.

Rolling my eyes skyward Jax grabs my hand, leaning closer he whispers "You know Johnson will jump on this with both feet. Our records are public babe."

I nod "But you've only ever been convicted of assault once, 2 years ago, and a couple of speeding tickets."

Jax nods "But they're likely to bring up all the attempted charges."

"What, the smuggling that got thrown out before it even made it anywhere? The DUI that got dropped when they realised their equipment was faulty and the possession charge that they had to let go after the evidence mysteriously disappeared?"

Jax chuckles and nods "Yeah those."

"Well no shit they're gonna bring up that stuff baby. I'm prepared for that. I was prepared for that anyway, what I don't want them bringing up is anything to do with that fucker." Leaning closer to his ear I whisper "I also don't want them bringing up anything to do with the adoption, which is a matter of public record."

Jax swallows loudly "So Ma could…?"

I nod "If she searched for news articles she could."

"Fuck!" Jax says "So all that hush hush keeping it secret could have been for nothing if the wrong person in Charming opens their mouths, or if she discovered Google again?"

Juice looks confused about what we're talking about "Huh?"

Jax glances at me and I shrug "He may as well know it's bound to come up."

"If you tell my mother, or Clay, I will make those tattoo's a pretty wall decoration in my games room." Juice nods nervously and I giggle.

"It's okay Juice. Jax is just worried that his Mom will find out I have a current petition to adopt Abel in the courts at home."

"That's great! Isn't it?" He says.

I nod as we open the court door "Yes, but we didn't want Gem to know till it was confirmed. We didn't really want anyone to know but I'm pretty sure it'll come out when I sit in that shitty box up there."

Charlotte nods "It will. I'll be questioning you first obviously and I think bringing that up will help the jury understand what a kind, compassionate, loving woman you are. Even with everything you went through."

I giggle at her "Its okay Charlotte, you don't have to suck up to me."

Sitting down she reaches over and puts her hand over mine "Not sucking up, calling it like I see it."

Jax nods "She's right babe. Everything you've done since you came back has been proof of your loving heart that someone tried to destroy and I have to say for one that I'm glad he didn't succeed."

"Me too!" Al says from the row behind us.

"Me three." Donna says with a giggle

"Motion passed." Happy says, leaning around Jax to look at me "So be quiet."

"Okay okay, stop you'll give me a swelled head." Bursting into laughter at their expressions I lean into Jax's side "You're the only one that's allowed to get a swelled head."

Donna makes a mock gagging noise behind me and I look over Jax's shoulder "Oops. Not as quiet as I thought?"

She shakes her head and giggles at me as my face heats up. "It's okay, we still love you."

Poking my tongue out she smirks as the doors suddenly swing open with a bang, Johnson leading Craig's family into the courtroom, but instead of the four that left there are five coming in.

The calculated glare that I become the focus on from each of the Turners makes me cringe a little, but I know exactly what they're looking for. William and Deirdre are looking for me to see if I'm going to jump up and say it was all a mistake, that it wasn't Craig. Katrina is looking at me trying to see if I'm shocked, given that she's convinced I had something to do with his disappearance, and her husband appears to be searching for the same thing.

The fifth Turner isn't looking at me, his eyes are fixed on the back of the lawyers head as they both step through the gates and take seats behind the defendant's chair.

Charlotte turns around and lifts an eyebrow at me. I lean forward so I can whisper in her ear "It's not him."

Charlotte simply nods and turns around again, gaining the attention of the judge she asks for a 5 minute recess so she can speak with me and make sure my I'm okay with Craig in the courtroom, and says she's well aware that having just returned from lunch it is very unusual. The judge asks for objections, which thankfully Johnson doesn't, instead snorting at the mention of my mental health.

Charlotte and I disappear into one of the offices across the hall that the DA's use while in the buildings "How do you know it's not him? I would have thought it was."

"How big a list do you want?"

Charlotte pulls one of her legal pads towards her "As much as you can give me in four and a half minutes."

"Okay, well let's start with…"

4 minutes and 57 seconds after the recess was granted Charlotte and I are back in our seats. Charlotte smiling and flicking her eyes through the list of 20 reasons from sight alone I could tell the man wasn't Craig.

Jax grabs my hand when I sit down but I just shake my head at him and lean my cheek against his shoulder "That would be the cousin." I whisper very quietly.

Jax nods, his cheek barely brushing my hair.

Johnson gets up "For my final witness I'd like to call Craig Turner to the stand."

The man posing as my ex gets to his feet and walks slowly towards the witness stand where he's sworn in and takes the seat carefully.

"Craig, thank you for coming."

"That's alright, I'm sorry I missed the start of this. I wasn't aware the date had been moved forwards." The voice is almost the same as the one that I heard that night in Jax's back yard and anyone who didn't know Craig as well as I did probably would have thought it was him. "I'm looking forward to clearing my name." He says with a charming smile at the jury.

"I've only got a few questions for you. First, where were you when your then girlfriend went missing?"

"I was in Canada with family. My cousin and I hadn't seen each other in years and planned this 2 month backpacking trip around random places."

"Do you have proof of this?"

'Craig' nods "Sure. I've got all the photos we took." 

"Are they date stamped?"

"Objection! Anyone can change the date on a camera so it shows the dates you want shown."

The judge nods once "Sustained. Mr Turner, unless you have solid photographic evidence, not taken by yourself or a family member or close friend, your photos can not be used as evidence."

Both Johnson and 'Craig' nod. "Do you have event tickets, newspapers or anything like that that have dates and things you went to?"

The man pretending to be Craig nods "I do, there are a couple of tickets for events we went to that ended up with photos in the local papers."

Johnson picks up some newspaper pages and hands them to the judge who accepts them and gets them passed off to the jury to look at.

"When you returned to New York and found that your girlfriend was missing what was your first thought?"

"I was furious with my parents for not contacting me the day she was found to be missing, but then I realised that they wouldn't have been able to. My phone took a swim and stopped working and Brad, my cousin, forgot his charger so when his phone went flat we couldn't recharge it. Once I realised that there was no way to undo time I got past it and started searching for her."

"Did you have any luck?"

'Craig' shakes his head "Not really. I started in Vermont where my car was found and a few leads led me to Maine. I was doing a search around the coast cause I knew Sarah loves beaches and the sea when I was arrested in York and charged with kidnapping her."

"Did you do any of the things you are charged with?"

Shaking his head furiously "No. I loved Sarah, I wanted to marry her and spend my life with her but after everything that happened I realised that there was something wrong with her head and we were better off apart."

"Objection!" Charlotte jumps to her feet "The defendant is making judgements about someone's mental state with no qualifications to do so."

"Sustained." Turning to the jury the judge tells them to disregard what was just said.

"When you were released from prison what did you do?"

"I returned to New York for a few days to gather some cash and clothes before following the same trail I had to get to Maine in the first place. I was sure I could find something that would clear my name."

"But then you vanished off the radar. Why and where were you?"

"I went to the cabin of a friend in Connecticut till I needed to be here to clear my name."

Johnson smiles "And do you have proof of that?"

"Just supermarket receipts and things that could have belonged to anyone." 'Craig' says with a smile.

"Thank you, no further questions." Johnson sits down and Charlotte stands up, the yellow legal pad in front of her.

"Mr Turner I only have a few questions for you."

"Sure. Fire away." 'Craig' says with another bright smile.

"You're obviously aware that New York State driver's licences have all sorts of information on them?"

"Yes, everyone knows that."

"How tall are you?" Charlotte says with a small smile.

"6 foot 2."

"And yet the copy of Craig Turner's driver's licence that was submitted to the evidence this morning at my request has his height at 5 foot 7."

"Objection!" Johnson jumps to his feet "The licence information held about my client is incorrect. A letter was registered with the state the day after it was printed to correct it."

Charlotte swipes a line through something on her page "Withdrawn." She says before the judge can say anything.

"You were in a car accident 4 years ago, were you not?"

'Craig' nods "I was."

"What injuries did you sustain?"

"I got a concussion and broke my femur in my left leg."

"Any after effects from that?"

"Other than being scared to drive for almost 2 years, no."

"So the records of physio due to a ½ inch difference in femur length are wrong?" Charlotte puts her page down and turns to the judge "Ma'am this is not Craig Turner. This is Bradley Turner, Craig's cousin. Craig Turner has walked with a limp since his accident as the bone in his left leg had to be repaired due to the damage. A height difference of an inch on a licence may be explainable as an imputing error but the 7 inches that the defendant's lawyer is claiming is impossible."

The judge calls both lawyers to the bench where they have a very short conversation. Charlotte continues to reference things on the list I'd given her and the judge keeps looking at the man claiming to be Craig Turner. After 3 minutes both lawyers return to their tables and Johnson narrows his eyes at me with a confused look.

Turning to the witness box the judge does something that surprises me and everyone else but the sounds of the gasps "I'm going to have you placed under arrest till we can confirm your identity. A simple fingerprint check should be sufficient. The prosecuting attorney for the state does not wish to question you anymore and the defence attorney has waived his right to as well."

Watching the person claiming to be my ex escorted from the court in handcuffs makes me giggle till Johnson gets to his feet and tiredly says that the defence has rested.

Charlotte smiles at me and turns back to the jury "I have a whole list of people who I could call as witnesses, and depending on the results of the fingerprinting that will be occurring shortly I may, but my first witness will be Sarah Teller."

"Fuck." I mutter under my breath. Cam grabs my hand, pushing the bracelet I'd handed her back into my numb fingers as I walk through the gate.

"Do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" I'm asked once my hand is on a bible.

"I do." I reply blankly, willing my brain to catch up with the sudden turn of events.

AN: Sarah's testimony will be the next chapter cause it will probably take a lot for me to write, and be quiet long.


	63. Chapter 63

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

Here we have it, contains references to physical and sexual abuse.

"Please state your name for the record." Charlotte says to start with.

"Sarah Gretchen Teller."

"Could you please take us through a rundown of your relationship with the defendant?"

"Sure. Craig and I met about three years ago and started dating casually, after about 6 months he decided he didn't want me seeing anyone else, which I was okay with cause I wasn't anyway. There were a couple of people from one of my courses I'd get coffee with and Craig saw that as me dating them, even though one was married and one was engaged. About 7 months after we became exclusive he started telling me how I should dress and tried to get rid of a whole lot of my clothes, Cam and Al rescued them and stored them in Al's apartment."

"At that stage you'd been together for how long?"

"A little over a year. That went on for about 8 months when he started asking me to move in with him. By this stage we'd been together for over 18 months and he'd decided that we should take another step in our relationship."

"You didn't agree?" Charlotte asks.

"Not really. I was living with Cam in an apartment I loved, in a building that was close to where I worked. Craig lived so far away that I would have had to spend at least an hour on the Subway to get to work. When I mentioned that to him Craig laughed and told me that it wouldn't matter, after I moved in with him I'd be able to give up work. He also said he'd get rid of both my cars so that I didn't have to worry about driving in New York."

"Did you have problems driving in town?"

I shake my head "No. I love New York. Yes driving can be a pain in the backside, but I didn't do it often enough for it to be a chore."

"Okay. Then what happened?"

"When he told me that he expected me to give up work and my cars I broke up with him. I told him that I wasn't going to be a kept woman and if he couldn't understand that then our lives were no longer compatible."

"But you got back together?"

I nod "Yeah." I pull my ponytail in front of myself and twirl the ends around my fingers "I shouldn't have, I know that now but I thought he could change. I thought he loved me enough to want to change."

"What happened?"

"About 3 weeks later he came to my apartment and begged for forgiveness. He told me he realised he was being overbearing and controlling and he was sorry. He said he didn't want me to work so that I'd be there when he went to work and came home. Because he worked during the day and as a chef I worked nights his logic did make sense."

I stop for a minute, my mouth finally catching up with my brain as I think about what happened in the next stage of our relationship "He started looking for apartments for both of us, agreeing on a radius in the middle of both our work places so that we'd each have a commute of about 30 minutes on the Subway. The ones he found were either too small to be practical for two people or too far away for me to continue to work where I was, some of them were anywhere up to a 2 hour trip each way. I started looking and in the couple of months I was looking I found four apartments that were in the perfect spot between our work places but he made silly excuses why he didn't like them."

"What sort of excuses?"

"We couldn't afford it, he didn't like the balcony, we didn't need 2 bedrooms and one that he didn't like the way the neighbours looked at him. I gave up after that and broke up with him a second time telling him that compromise was a huge part of any relationship and it shouldn't have been me doing it all."

"But that wasn't the end of it?"

I shake my head chuckling wrly at myself and my stupidity "No, apparently I didn't learn. He came back and made a grand apology which I accepted again, thinking we could be friends. I didn't want to be in a relationship with him anymore but he convinced me that the third time was a charm." I stop talking for a second and Charlotte reaches over with a box of tissues which I drop into my lap.

"We stayed together another 3 months after that, and they were among the worst months of my life, right behind the time I spent in captivity. He'd show up at my place of work at all hours. I was working from 2pm till 2am most nights. He'd always tell me it was some matter of life or death and so I'd go with him. It would end up being nothing more than his friends doing something that should have appeared on Jackass or Ridiculousness. He started proposing to me every weekend, even though I'd told him right from our first date that I was never getting married."

I start absently shredding a tissue into my lap while thinking about it "He ended up losing his job cause of the amount of time he was spending away from it. He told me he'd never told his parents about being fired cause they'd be so disappointed in him." Sure enough looking over at Deirdre and William they're frowning at the story I'm telling, which is obviously completely different to what Craig told them.

"The last month he stopped acting so strange, he'd started looking for a new job so he was busy with interviews and making sure everything on his resume was right. He asked if I'd go to Maine with him to relax so we could reconnect and get back to the good days right in the beginning. I agreed. We left New York on the 15th of July, intending to be back on the 23rd. I had a huge function at work a couple of days later and I knew we'd be frantically busy.

The entire room is completely silent while I stop speaking; the only sound is the breathing of the several dozen people in the room. "When we arrived in Maine he told me that there was a problem with the place he'd booked so we were going to be in a friends place for the first night, I thought that was fine but the place we ended up at looked like it had been a garage at some point, but was well past needing to be demolished. He apologised for about an hour, then when I finally got him to stop saying he was sorry he pulled out a picnic he'd made. I ended up passing out. I'm not sure if it was from alcohol or if he drugged me."

Donna frowns lightly, I'd told her that it was due to alcohol but of course being on the stand the half-truths I told her I have to expand on bits I'd glossed over, apart from on one issue. Funnily after explaining so many times what happened the tears that well in my eyes stay there, instead of spilling down my cheeks like I thought they would.

"When I woke up the next morning he was standing over me, just watching me as I struggled against the ropes he'd tied me to the bed with. When I eventually gave up fighting he laughed and started looking between my arms. My sleeve was finished but the other arm was completely bare of any ink. He told me that he would have liked me to get laser removal on my sleeve but even that would mean a lot of scarring and he couldn't cut the ink out of my skin cause I'd bleed to death. He said that he'd decided a compromise would be putting his name on my skin to show that I belonged to him I wasn't trying to move any more, I'd realised that my feet and wrists were tied to the bed and it would be pointless. Every time I moved all I ended up with was a horrible burning feeling in my wrists."

Charlotte gestures towards the stack of photos "There's an image there of what her wrists looked like when she was admitted. She had severe infections on top of rope burns on both wrists and one of her ankles."

I frown at the stack of photos, I know exactly what most of them contain and some part of my brain wonders if the photos Craig took are in there as evidence as well. Charlotte nods "Continue, please."

"He sat down on a stool beside my head and started stroking my hair, telling me it was always his favourite part of me, along with my eyes. Then he told me he was going to start writing. I wasn't terribly worried. Craig had a habit of the overdramatic."

I stop and run my hand across my forearm; the slightly puckered skin under my fingertips gives me the strength to continue. "He handed me this shitty rum that he brought and told me I'd be better off drinking it even though rum always made me violently ill. Then he brought out his writing implement and I realised how truly fucked I was. Sorry."

I aim the apology to the judge who just shakes her head. "That's fine. Continue."

I inhale a huge breath "He used a paring knife to write the letters of his name. The C was on the front of my shoulder joint and the letters ran down the inside of my bicep to my forearm where the curve of the g is against my wrist."

"You said the letters ran, like past tense?"

I roll the ¾ sleeve on my arm as high as I can go "It still says his name, but I covered it as best I could."

Charlotte nods "There are photos of what her arm looked like when she was admitted in the photographs as well."

"I was tied to that bed for a month. Every day he would come back from wherever he went during the day and 'clean' my arm."

"What do you mean by clean?" Charlotte asks, already knowing the answer but needing me to specify.

"It depended. For the first week he was just using salt water from the sea. During the second week he started picking all the scabs off it and then using salt water and lemon juice. Towards the end he kept most of the cleaning ritual he'd started. He'd pick of any scabs there were and wipe my entire arm down with a stained rag that he'd found somewhere. He'd then wash my arm with salt water from the sea, the lemons he'd always have were cut in half, their juice squeezed over my arm and then the cut sides were rubbed against my skin so the juice went into every bit of his name. He made some sort of compress out of salt, water and lemon juice that he turned into a slushy mess that he packed against my skin and wrapped with cling film." I shudder at the memory "The first time he did that I almost passed out, but he'd always stop when I almost did and wait till I was coherent again before starting again. That was the point I gave up. I knew my arm was infected and I started hoping that the infection would kill me. That was also the first time I said anything to him."

"What did you say?"

"I asked him why. He told me it was because I belonged to him and everyone needed to know it by looking at me. He told me the only reason he didn't carve his name on my forehead is that he didn't want to mess up any family photos we had with our children."

I sniff lightly, a few of the tears in my eyes finally spilling over "That was also the first night he sexually assaulted me."

Deirdre gasps and I hear Katrina's voice calling me a liar which I ignore, Donna growls and I smile at her softly through my eyelashes, shaking my head. "He did that every night, at least once a night. Sometimes he'd stop and take photos, sometimes he'd talk about loosening the ropes, sometimes he talk about what it would be like when he could let me go and we could go back to New York and start our family."

"After about 2 weeks of that I just gave up. I was sure I was going to die and I figured that by not fighting him and continuing to ignore him he might get sick of me and not come back. He let me up not long after that. I couldn't walk so I wasn't going anywhere. No one knew where we'd gone, I'd said we were going out of town but hadn't specified further than that. About 2 weeks after that he untied me completely but I still couldn't do anything. I couldn't walk more than 20 steps without being on the verge of passing out." Swiping angrily at my eyes I put my hands in my lap and twist my wedding band and engagement ring around my finger. "It was 2 months after we left New York before I was strong enough to leave the shed. He'd come in one night and told me that the fishing work he'd been doing was ending and we'd have to go somewhere else."

Charlotte hands me a water bottle which I accept with a grateful smile "I waited what felt like forever after he left, but was really probably about an hour before I moved. It took me 5 minutes walking that felt like miles to find a house, but I didn't know if anyone knew Craig around the area so I kept going. I saw the sign for York Hospital about 20 minutes after I passed the first house and I made that my destination."

Charlotte nods "We've got the hospital records here. You walked in the door at 1140 on September 29th, managed to get out that you'd been abducted and what your name was before you passed out. Within an hour they had you being hydrated, they'd informed the police and Alice and Camryn were on their way."

I nod and Charlotte smiles over at my friends "Can you tell me about the time between then and when you ended up in California?"

"I spent 31 days in hospital, fighting off the infections I had, seeing a therapist every day and regaining muscle mass. I continued to see the same therapist after I returned to New York."

"Isn't it unusual to have a therapist cross state lines?"

I shrug "Probably, mine was actually a woman based here in New York. Her office is in the same building as Derek, Cam's father, and she came very highly recommended in situations such as mine. I tried to go back to normal, as normal as I could. Al and I covered the scars as best we could and I found a new job."

"Tell me about that?"

"Because I'd been gone so long my boss had seen it as abandoning my position so they'd filled it, even though when everything came out they offered me another role I couldn't take it. I couldn't be out of the house after dark, I was too scared even though I knew Craig was in jail and couldn't get me. I started working in a coffee shop, only during the hours of daylight, but Al or Cam had to be there with me while I was working, normally it was Al during the day. Cam and I shared an apartment and she moved both our beds into the living room so even when I was sleeping I wasn't alone. Between the two of them I was almost never left alone. When I realised what they were doing to their own lives I made them stop and arranged with Derek and his chef and housekeeper that I could go there during the day so I wasn't alone. There's always someone at the Franklin house so it seemed logical."

"Things started to get back to some sort of normalcy until 7 months, 1 week and 5 days after I escaped when Craig was released due to a complication. I had a restraining order that I didn't think I'd need cause he was incarcerated in another state but in the first day he rang me twice. Four days after he was released when the phone calls from him to me and me to the local police had hit triple digits he left a headless cat on my doorstep."

Johnson finally jumps to his feet "Objection, we have no way of knowing if it was Mr Turner that left the decapitated animal."

"We have still photos from the security footage of the animal being left, and Mr Turners face in the same shot, as well as video footage of the delivery." Charlotte gestures towards her table after picking her words very carefully. "And after all of that?" She says to me.

"I left that afternoon. While I didn't find either of the parts of the animal, Cam found the body and Al found the head attached to her door, it was disturbing enough to know that Craig could get through the security in the building. I arrived in California 3 days after I left New York."

Charlotte nods "For the record, Mrs Teller's hospital records have been submitted with the full list of injuries, including the internal injuries she'd sustained from the defendants mistreatment of her."

The judge nods, glancing at the thick folder that holds my hospital record, including all the treatment I'd had. "And how has life been since you returned to California?"

I smile over at Jax "It's been busy but I'm happy, I've only had two conversations with Gayle since I returned."

Charlotte looks up "Who is Gayle?"

"My psychiatrist." I reply. "I spoke to her before I submitted some paperwork to legally adopt my stepson and once briefly before I came out here for the trial."

"Why did you speak to her regarding your stepson?"

I shrug "I wanted to make sure that there would be no way my treatment with her could adversely affect the outcome of the adoption."

"And did it?"

I shrug "I don't know I'm due to hear the final result sometime in the next week."

'You're not concerned about your past making it hard for you to care for someone?"

I shake my head "No. What happened to me wasn't my fault." Lifting my arm I point to a very faint line of script that's been woven between the images on my arm in the scar covering sleeve "There isn't much in the way of words tattooed on me, but this single line I read every day."

"What does it say?" Charlotte asks, cocking her head to the side.

"It says 'Even the darkest night has a dawn' I've been through my share of dark nights." I reply.

Charlotte nods "No further questions."

Johnson stands up and walks around his desk, sitting on top of the dark wood and looking at me "You told my client that you would never get married, correct?"

I nod "I did."

"Yet only 7 weeks after you returned to California from New York you were back in New York getting married?"

I nod "I came back to New York for Derek's wedding with Jackson Teller, my then boyfriend. He proposed during the flight back and I accepted. We were married only a few days later while in town."

"Why did you never accept my clients marriage proposals."

"Objection. Relevance?"

The judge lifts her eyebrow and Johnson smirks "I merely want to find why the witness was so reluctant to get married yet when asked not many months after her traumatic event she accepted."

The judge looks at me "You don't have to answer if you don't wish too."

I nod "I know, but I'd like to." Looking at Charlotte I smile "It's not like it's a secret."

"What's not a secret?"

I shrug "I've loved Jackson Teller since I was 12. Craig knew that there was something in California that had part of me, and always would. I never told him it was a person cause it wasn't fair on him to be competing with a ghost. When I moved to New York I wanted to leave everything from California behind me and I did, mostly."

"Mostly?"

I nod "When you love someone as much as I loved Jax it's impossible to forget that. You can bury it, you can supress it, you can get over it to a certain extent but there will always be a part of you that will love that person till your dying breath."

"You used the past tense there, any reason?"

I smile at Jax and nod again "Of course. I used past tense because I don't love him that much anymore." Jax frowns for a split second till I open my mouth again "I love him more now than I did when I was 12. I understand the difference between the different levels of love. Childhood crush adult love and parental unconditional love."

"But you have no children, how would you understand parental love."

"Objection!" Charlotte jumps to her feet "We have already covered that Mrs Teller is in the process of adopting her stepson."

Johnson turns around "Yes, but a step parent will never love a child as much as a biological parent does."

The judge shakes her head, narrowing her eyes at Johnson "I'm overruling that question as a step-parent myself who loves her stepchildren as much as their biological mother does."

Johnson nods in acceptance turning back to me "Would you say your captivity was emotional?"

I nod "It was."

"And you're sure you can 100% say that my client was the one who held you captive, even though by your own admission the first night you passed out. Is it not possible that it was a figment of your imagination that it was Craig and in fact you'd been kidnapped from New York?"

I almost snort; only digging my fingers into my palm stops the sound "No it's not possible. I was sober when I left New York and drove the 5 hours with Craig, in his car, to Maine. I dated him for 2 and a half years, it's not possible that it wasn't him I looked at each day when he peeled scabs off my body and poured salt into my wounds. And it certainly is not possible that it wasn't him that raped me multiple times." I spit out at him, ignoring each of his attempts to ask me another question.

"You said you've been in love with your husband since you were a young girl?" I nod "Are you aware of his criminal history?"

I do end up snorting this time "Yes, I am aware he did a 6 month stretch for assault over 2 years ago when he punched someone who intentionally used their vehicle to ram his step father while he was on his motorcycle. In case you didn't know my husbands' father was killed when he was struck by a vehicle many years ago. I am also aware that he was given a suspended sentence over the two speeding tickets he got within a week of each other."

"And the smuggling, possession and DUI charges?"

"Each of them was thrown out. The DUI equipment was found to be faulty when the arresting officer failed with the highest reading on record. The possession charge was dropped when the evidence disappeared before it made it to the evidence lock up and the smuggling charge was such a joke that a judge didn't even look twice at the paperwork before tossing it out."

"And the other criminal activities your husband is involved in, are you sure he didn't have anything to do with Mr Turner's disappearance?"

I look up at him blankly "My husband is a mechanic and a member of a Harley enthusiasts club."

Johnson takes his seat again, throwing over his shoulder that he's done with me.

Charlotte stands up and smiles "I only have one more question." I nod and she gestures towards the Turners "Prior to today have you seen any of the Turners since you escaped your captivity?"

I shake my head "No, I haven't." Charlotte nods, letting me take my seat again beside Jax, who immediately folds me into his arms.

The judge calls for a 30 minute recess when the officer who took 'Craig' away returns but orders none of us to leave the building.

None of us leave the room apart from Donna who goes to the bathroom down the hall, but she's back inside 5 minutes. "It's insane out there. There's at least 10 reporters across the hall just hovering. When I opened the door they all sort of leant forward till they realised I wasn't anyone they recognised."

"Fuck!" Derek grumbles looking at me "I guess I have to tell you now."

"Tell me what?" I ask, my attention immediately drawn.

"Among the fact that they've dug up all the criminal history relating to Jax, and they are rehashing the original trial the reporters found out about an incident involving two cars in a garage." Derek says "There's some very sketchy information regarding what actually happened, one of the stories claims that you took a sledgehammer to Jax's ex girlfriend's car then tried to run her over but hit a concrete wall instead."

I laugh, leaning into Jax's side. "If that's all they've got then they're not doing their jobs very well. The incident involving a vehicular assault happened against my car, and anyone who would like to know the details can search the insurance register where they will find my insurance company paid out without any issues and the other party was found completely liable. If they'd like more than that I can arrange a public viewing of the video footage of the incident in question."

Derek laughs "So you're not worried?"

"Nope." I reply, my lips making a popping sound "I've got nothing to be concerned about. When we leave, if I manage to get away without being mobbed, then direct them to Patrick who has a copy of the footage and the reports."

The judge returns with the officer who had escorted 'Craig' out, both of them frowning deeply at Johnson who's still sitting in his seat.

After taking her seat behind the huge desk she looks down "Were you aware Mr Johnson that the man who arrived today claiming to be Mr Craig Turner is in fact Brad Turner, the cousin of your client?"

Johnson looks up and shakes his head once "No ma'am I didn't. Mr and Mrs Turner informed me at the close of yesterdays session that their daughter had finally gotten hold of their son and he would be here this afternoon."

I turn my eyes to the family finding them all sitting very stiffly in their seats, apart from Katrina's husband who's twisted so far sideways in his seat that he looks like he's about to fall off the edge of the bench.

The judge clears her throat bringing everyone's attention back to her "I spoke with Mr Brad Turner during our recess and have clarified a few things. On the information he has provided while still under oath I have no choice but to find Mr William Turner, Mrs Deirdre Turner and Ms Katrina Turner in contempt of court. Each of you will be issued with a notice to appear before me at a later date where I will decide what penalties to impose. Your testimonies are to be stricken from the record and you will be escorted out of this courtroom." The bailiffs appear beside them and each of the stunned Turner's are escorted out of the room before another word can be said. "Bradley Turner is going to be charged with lying under oath and attempted miscarriage of justice."

The judge then turns back to Johnson and Charlotte "Continue please."

Charlotte gets up "I'd like to call Brett Handler to the stand."

The manager from our building makes his way to the seat where he's sworn in quickly. Charlotte smiles at him "I only have a few questions for you Mr Handler. Firstly, can you please state your name and occupation for the record?"

"My name's Brett Handler, I'm the manager of the Lumiere building where Sarah lived before and after her ordeal."

"Thank you. Now, can you explain what happened with the security protocols after Sarah was released from the hospital?"

"Mr Franklin had additional security put in place while Ms Hale, sorry Mrs Teller, was a patient. It included motion activated security cameras in all the common areas of the building, he upgraded the swipe card system for the front doors and hired additional staff so that there was always 2 security staff onsite at all times."

"Was there any particular reason?"

"Mr Franklin saw Mrs Teller as a member of his family, with how close she and his daughter were he was concerned about how safe they both would feel in the building."

"Yet Craig Turner still managed to gain access?" 

Brett frowns and looks over at Cam, Al and I with an apologetic look "Yes, it seems that one of the security staff we hired had a gambling problem and he was paid by Mr Turner to leave a door unlocked and look the other way."

"What happened to that staff member?"

"Mr Franklin put him through Gamblers anonymous and then gave him a job working security at a factory out of town where he was part of a four man crew at all times."

"No further questions."

"Mr Handler, who undertook the hiring of the security staff?" Johnson asks, getting to his feet.

"I contracted an outside firm to find me additional guards."

"And did you perform any searches on the recommended people yourself?"

"No, I trusted the firm I'd employed were doing their jobs correctly, when we brought it to their attention they completely changed their protocols and the searches they ran on their potential employee's."

"What did Mr Franklin think of the whole issue?"

"He refused to have any more contact with that particular company, he now hires his security independently and each of them must pass multiple security, financial and medical checks before being offered roles."

"I can understand security checks, but why financial and medical?" Johnson asks, with a curious frown.

"It was a condition Mr Franklin put on the potential employees."

"Thank you, nothing further."

The judge looks over at Charlotte and tells her to call her final witness for the day. Charlotte nods as she stands up, asking Derek to the stand, he's sworn in and takes his seat casually.

"Please state your name and relationship to Mrs Teller for the record."

"Derek Franklin. Sarah is my daughters' friend and former flatmate."

"Further to Mr Handler's testimony can you please explain why you required your security staff to undergo financial and medical checks?"

"Sure. The medical checks were mainly to make sure my staff members stayed healthy, they would get 6 monthly medicals as part of their employment contract. I originally only had financial checks being done on the staff that worked with anything to do with the law enforcement and financial institutes that I was contracted to, but I pushed that to all levels of my business after the oversight at Lumiere. Any existing staff member that didn't want the full financial checks done was given a reference and 4 weeks paid leave to find a new job."

"How many staff members did you lose?"

Derek laughs "Less than one hundred. Out of a staff of over 20 thousand people worldwide."

"Thank you, that's all."

Johnson shakes his head when asked if he wants to ask Derek any questions and Derek returns to the seats with us. The judge closes the day and tells us to reconvene again at 9am the following morning.

Leaving the courtroom I see what Donna meant, there are a few reporters standing against the wall opposite and when they spot me they surge forward. Opie, Hap, Jax and Derek form a sort of circle around me with Derek in the front, the first question that is yelled at me is regarding the accident, but the mention of Tara's name makes me almost freeze in my steps, Jax's arm through mine keeps me moving and Derek chuckles at the question, directing them all to Patrick's office with the casual mention that he has video footage of the incident in question.


	64. Chapter 64

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

Really wish I had thought of bringing Tara in as a witness...bitch fight in the court room? Tara flipping out finding out about the wedding and Abel's adoption? Hmmm...the possibilities that would have opened up.

Waking up in the morning I roll over and fall out of bed, Jax is pressed so tightly behind me that the movement to get away from his body heat has me hovering on the edge of the mattress. My hand blindly slaps out and finds his arm but my fingers skid across his skin as I topple over the edge.

Landing on the floor with a thump I end up hitting my elbow on the bedside table and my foot on the car seat insert that's beside the bed. "Oww. Fuck that hurt."

Jax's head appears over the side of the bed "What ya doin' down there babe?"

Narrowing my eyes at him I get up slowly "I fell out of bed, you kept pushing closer to me and I ended up on the floor."

Jax chuckles at the indignant expression I know is on my face, which lasts till I stalk through to the bathroom and close the door as Abel wakes up with a scream "He needs a diaper change and a bottle." I say through the closed door, grinning at Jax's groan of frustration "Then he could do with a bath, but you'll do that won't you baby. I'll order breakfast when I'm done in here and we can eat in the room. Let D know so she can pass it on?"

I don't wait for a reply, knowing that he'll do what I've asked seeing just the night before he'd told me I needed to ask him when I wanted him to do things for me.

I'm showered and walking around the room in my robe 25 minutes later as splashing and giggling from Abel comes through the cracked bathroom door, the splashes followed by Jax's groans and the giggling followed by his deep laugh that makes me smile without even knowing what it is that's made him laugh.

The knock at the door startles me out of my thoughts and I drop the last piece of today's outfit on the bed "Baby breakfast is here." I call, opening the door and letting the person pushing the room service cart in. The plates are covered but I know exactly what's on them, silently handing a folded note over as a tip I push the door, leaving it slightly ajar behind him, crossing to the bathroom "Baby. Breakfast is here."

Jax looks up from where he's sitting on the edge of the bath and nods "Apparently Abel loves water."

I nod, giggling at the bottom of Jax's jeans which are saturated with water "Yep. And he loves to soak whoever's bathing him. Didn't you get in with him? It makes it easier?"

Jax frowns "Didn't think of that. Do I have clean clothes?"

I roll my eyes "Of course you do. Give me wet and wiggly and I'll get him dried and dressed while you have a shower, food will stay warm."

By the time I have finished drying, powdering and dressing Abel in a pair of plain black shorts and a Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt I'd picked up for him in Sturgis Jax is out of the shower and back in the main room, pulling on clean boxers and jeans. "What's for breakfast?"

Lifting the covers Jax groans with the tray of the tiny pastry's that the hotel makes under one of the covers "You have to make them one day."

I roll my eyes, lifting the other covers off the other two plates laden with scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausage, tomatoes and a rack of toast that sits between the two plates. The stewed apple I'd requested is steaming lightly and I frown at it.

"What's wrong?"

"The apple is for Abel, but it'll be way too hot." By the way he's leaning towards the table I can tell he's hungry and wants it.

Jax looks over at the tray "What about a banana?"

I shrug "I'm not sure, he doesn't normally like them, but I've never tried giving him a section of one."

Perching him on my lap so I can keep an eye on him Jax peels the banana and breaks off a piece of the end, holding it out towards his son. Abel looks at it curiously for a second before grabbing hold of it and lifting it into his mouth. Gumming on the end of it he settles back against my arm happily holding the chunk of fruit. "Guess that worked." I say with a chuckle adjusting myself in my chair so I can reach my plate.

Abel finishes the banana while the apple cools but midway between my plate and my mouth his little hand grabs a bit of egg off my fork, sticking it into his mouth before I can react. Looking up at Jax I frown "I'm not sure if he should eat egg yet."

Jax shrugs pulling his phone off the table "I'll ask D. She'll know." The quick conversation that follows ends with him laughing. "She doesn't remember but thinks that Kenny started eating eggs at about 18 weeks."

"Abel's only 16 weeks though, and he did have that issue with his tummy." I reply and Jax shrugs telling me to ring the paediatrician if I'm that concerned. I consider it for about 5 seconds, but decide that the tiny bit he's had probably won't hurt him. Telling Jax as such he nods in agreement.

"Trish will tell you if anything goes wrong anyway." He reminds me with a grin "What's on the agenda for today?"

I shrug, eating slowing as I talk "Charlotte is pretty sure today will be the last day of the trial, we're relocating to the house after today's session regardless but she's only got another 3 people she could call to the stand and each of them is only there for a very specific reason."

"Who?"

"The guy who employed Craig in Maine, Gayle and the ER admitting doctor from the hospital in York." I tell him, picking up one of the mini croissants and poking a strip of bacon in the end.

"Gayle's the shrink?"

I nod, taking a bite of the bacony goodness. Pulling the bowl of apple towards myself I finally start feeding some of it to Abel now that it's not letting off huge pillows of steam, he starts making happy noises as he eats.

I can't help but laugh at him and look over at Jax "You know you make the same noise when you eat sometimes?"

Jax shakes his head "I do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Does not what?" Donna's voice comes through the door as she pushes it open.

"Listen." I pick up another spoonful of apple and guide it into Abel's mouth where he makes the same happy noise in the back of his throat.

Donna laughs and looks at Jax "You do that!"

Jax shakes his head "Do not."

"Sorry bro, you do." Ope says, joining us in the room through the now wide open door.

Before either of us can reply the twins have run into the room talking full speed "Guess what Aunty S and Uncle Jax." Kenny says, bouncing into the middle of the bed.

Jax grins over "I know. You found the answer to unlimited free fuel."

Kenny shakes his head.

I snort "You figured out how to get your dad out of bed before 11 in the weekends."

Ellie laughs and shakes her head.

Jax winks at me "Your mom learnt how to bake a triple layer chocolate upside down cake with banana and vanilla?"

Kenny shakes his head sliding off the bed "No silly. But yum. Mommmmmm." Kenny turns to his mother "Can I have chocolate cake?"

"Not for breakfast. Now, what were you going to tell Aunty S and Uncle Jax?"

Kenny frowns for a second "Oh yeah. Trish said today we can go to the statue of lib...libe...liba. That big lady."

Jax chuckles "The Statue of Liberty?"

Kenny nods "Yeah, and she said when we've been there we can go to the ice cream store. But we have to go on a boat to get to the big lady."

Opie chuckles, lifting his son onto his knee and snagging an apricot Danish at the same time "He's been going on about it since he woke up."

Donna sits down at the other chair and nods "Ellie hasn't been so much, but I think she's just as excited." Ellie nods her head furiously looking at the Danish in her dad's hand.

Lifting the plate off the table I pass it over to her smiling as it takes her a minute to pick a chocolate filled Danish. Looking up through her eyelashes she thanks me softly handing the plate back. Kenny takes less time, picking up a blueberry Danish while I'm still moving the plate towards him.

"Mom! Did you not feed them?" I say to Donna with a snicker as she lifts the last croissant from the plate with a shrug.

"I did, but the cereal and toast I ordered obviously wasn't as good. Everyone went the room service breakfast route this morning."

"Yes we did." Derek's voice from the door makes me turn my head "But we've got 10 minutes before we have to leave. Trish and Joe have gone to get the cars and Amy is about 15 minutes away to help with the kids."


	65. Chapter 65

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. This chapter does contain some medical details that may be a bit difficult to deal with.

Arriving at the court house I'm surprised that there aren't as many reporters there as there was the day before but Derek's quiet explanation as I get out of the car that Patrick and Charlotte had gotten together and released a statement which answered a lot of questions on my behalf makes me nod.

Charlotte is already inside the room, her briefcase open but behind her as she talks quietly to two men and one woman. Stepping into the row of seats behind them they all turn around and look at me. Gayle smiles "You doing okay?"

I nod "I think I've surprised myself with how well I'm handling all this."

Jax wraps his arm around my shoulders "Apart from falling out of bed."

I elbow him lightly "That was your fault."

"Oops." He says with a grin, introducing himself to the people in front of us then taking a seat and turning around to talk to Derek and Juice about the firewall they're building for the porn house.

The doctor from the hospital in York gives me a very quick once over and I'm glad that Jax is now looking the other way when he smiles "You're looking a heck of a lot better now then you were the last time I saw you."

I nod, sitting down beside Jax "Most of that is thanks to my husband and relatives."

He frowns "I thought you didn't have any family."

I shrug gesturing to the three men in leather sitting behind me "My husband is part of a motorcycle club that sees itself as one huge family. When we got married I inherited what amounts to a sister, 2 brothers, 2 aunts, 5 uncles, and 4 cousins."

Happy rests his arms on the back of the bench I'm on "Who are the cousins?"

I lean back onto his forearms "Chibs, Juice, Miles and Kip."

"Sack and shithead I get, but Chibs and Juice?"

I nod, shooting an apologetic glance towards Juice "I still don't know them well enough to move them into another category. Juice is getting closer to 'brother' every day and Chibs took a great leap towards uncle with his devotion to Doj but it's still on the road."

Happy nods, ruffling my hair like an annoying older brother would laughing when I make random threats about cupcakes which go right over the doctor's head.

Moving back to my former position against Jax's side I can see the interaction between Happy and myself did exactly what I was expecting it to. Dr Connor turns back to the front and sits slightly stiffly in his seat. Happy whispers "You're evil." behind me and my responding nod makes him chuckle, the sound making its way to my ears as Johnson comes in with a bang of the door and a scowl on his face.

Charlotte laughs lightly; turning around to face the front as the bailiff comes in and we all go through the now well practiced routine of standing for the judge and jury.

Calling the court to order the judge turns control to Charlotte who stands up with her usual smile towards the jury "I only have four more witnesses then I'm done. My first one for today is Anthony Murphy."

The unfamiliar man in front of me gets to his feet and I quietly whisper to Jax that I guess he must have been the boss in York. Charlotte's first question confirms this.

"Please state your name and relationship to the defendant for the record."

"My name's Tony, Anthony, Murphy. I employed Craig Turner to work on my boat in Maine."

"So you saw him on a daily basis?"

"I did. He'd show up for work every morning at 6am, work till 4pm then leave."

"Did you have any contact with him other than work?"

Shaking his head he replies "No. We had after work drinks every Friday and at least 2 work dinners while he was working for me and he never came to any of them."

"Did Mr Turner ever mention a girlfriend?"

Tony laughs "He mentioned a woman often, someone he was planning on marrying as soon as fishing season was over and he went back home. But I don't think he never said her name, or where home was."

"And the person you employed, has he been present in this court room at all?"

Tony shakes his head "No. The guy that was here was too tall to be Craig. I had to have a height limit on employees due to some of the gear we use. Anyone over 5 foot 10 would have knocked themselves out."

"No further questions."

Johnson jumps to his feet "During his time working for you how was Mr Turner paid?"

"Cash, he said he had lost his bank cards and there wasn't a branch of his bank in town so he always asked for cash."

"And you kept records?"

Tony nods "I got signed receipts for each of his payments for accounting purposes and as proof I'd paid him."

Charlotte stands up "Copies of the receipts have been submitted for evidence."

The judge nods as Charlotte sits back down again. Johnson smirks "Has the signature been verified as being Mr Turners?"

Tony shrugs "I don't know. I always watched him sign so I could co-sign that they'd been paid."

"No further questions."

Charlotte stands up "For the record, the signatures on both the receipts and Mr Turners drivers licence were compared by an analyst and confirmed that they were done by the same person. They were also compared against letters Mr Turner wrote to his family while incarcerated and they were also a 99% match."

Tony steps off the stand and returns to his seat. Charlotte calls Gayle to the stand next and swearing her in takes a little longer when the oath has to be revised due to her status as a psychiatrist and that there are some things she can't share due to her oaths.

Charlotte sits on the edge of her desk "You treated Sarah for approximately 1 year?"

Gayle nods "She's still an active patient, while we no longer have regular meetings she still can contact me whenever she needs to."

"And she has since returning to California?"

Gayle nods again "As she said, twice. Once prior to filing adoption papers for her stepson and once just four days ago."

"Are you able to tell us anything of the conversations you had?"

"Sure. She's already covered most of it. She rang the first time to make sure the adoption wouldn't be hindered by her undergoing treatment with me, I reassured her that her sessions were completely private and any information that was requested would have to go through legal channels, or have her approval."

"And the second time?"

"Four days ago she rang me to make sure I would be on hand during this trial in case she needed me. Today was the first time I've spoken to her since then."

"And she's agreed for you to answer what relevant questions come up here?" Charlotte asks quietly.

Gayle nods again "As long as they are directly relating to the treatment she had due to her captivity then she's agreed for me to answer them."

Charlotte nods again "So, briefly how was she when you started seeing her?"

"She was terrified, withdrawn, confused, malnourished, sleep deprived and very untrusting."

"Was she treated with any drugs of any sort?"

Gayle shakes her head "Not from me. She was given sleeping pills and anti-anxiety by her physician but she never struck me as needing antidepressants or antipsychotics as I would have expected."

"In the beginning how often were you seeing her?"

"While she was hospitalised I was seeing her every day for a minimum of an hour, but I was on call 24 hours a day in case she needed me for something else. Once she was discharged and returned to New York I saw her twice a week for the first three months then weekly for the next three. Her last month in New York I was seeing her fortnightly."

"Did she recover as well as you would have expected?"

Gayle smiles at me "She's done better than I initially thought, she's managed to get past all the issues she had regarding trusting people."

"Were you seeing anyone else while you were in Maine?"

Gayle nods "I was also seeing her two friends, Alice and Camryn daily."

This is a surprise to me and turning in my seat they both shrug "Did you get permission from them to discuss their treatment?"

Gayle nods again "Neither of them saw me more than a dozen times; they needed someone out of the loop to talk to about their feelings of guilt and responsibility they felt."

Al and Cam both lean forwards, squeezing my shoulders lightly and putting my hands over theirs I tug their fingers till they are resting their heads on my shoulders "Love you guys."

They both laugh very low and nod their chins brushing against my cheeks "We love you too."

"No further questions." Charlotte sits down and Johnson gets up with a smirk.

"Are you licenced to practice in Maine?"

Gayle rolls her eyes very dramatically "I'm licenced to practice in any of the 52 states of this country."

"During your treatment of Sarah did you at any stage become concerned she would harm herself?"

Gayle shakes her head "No. Even in the early days when she was struggling to accept what had happened to her she was logical and said she would never use what she called the 'cowards way out'. One of her statements during all her sessions was that she was stronger than taking her own life to escape, knowing the damage it would do to her friends and family."

"Do you have any concerns about her mental state now?"

Gayle shakes her head again "No I don't."

"Did the State of California approach you in regards to her firearms licence?"

"They did."

"And what was your recommendation?"

"I recommended that they grant the licence to her as she'd been through intense assessments prior to her licence being reissued to her in New York."

"Yet they ignored your recommendation?"

Gayle shrugs "It seems they did."

"No further questions your honour."

Charlotte stands up once more "Just to clarify, the State of California denied Mrs Tellers request to move her firearms licence across state lines but she is still licenced within the State of New York to carry."

My head shoots up in surprise; I had thought that California denying my request was the equivalent of New York cancelling my licence as I had moved states. Jax chuckles beside me "Guess you can go play with some guns later."

Gayle returns to her seat and Charlotte stands up "My next witness is Dr Connor."

The ER doctor from York takes the stand, a bundle of pages in his hand, and is sworn in while I casually look around the room, with Craig's family denied access for the last day the only person on the defence side of the room is Katrina's husband. Even Nathan is absent and I make a mental note to ask Charlotte what happened to him.

"Dr Connor, you were on duty the day Sarah came into the ER?"

He leans forwards towards the microphone "I was."

"Can you tell me what happened that day?"

"Certainly." He glances down at the pages and reads through some of the information before looking back up. "1140am a female came into the ER, announced that she'd been abducted and held hostage and then collapsed. At first the nurse thought perhaps she was intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics, but it became apparent very quickly that that was not the case."

"How?"

"Her body condition, the open wounds that we could see, the visible infection and her general appearance. We admitted her immediately and began fluids to rehydrate her, due to the level of malnourishment we had to take it very slowly so her body wouldn't shut down."

"Can you explain that a bit more please?"

"Sure. Sarah is 5 foot 7, a normal weight range for someone of that height is anywhere from 115 to 160 pounds depending on bone structure. When she was admitted she weighed less than 60 pounds. If we'd hurried her hydration we ran the risk of her body shutting down due to the pressure we were putting on her organs to function. As it was she was already running the risk of her kidneys and liver shutting down, her bowel function was nothing due to the lack of food she was being given."

Charlotte nods "And the list of injuries. In layman's terms please."

Dr Connor leans back in his chair "Apart from being severely underweight and dehydrated she was suffering from infections to both wrists, one ankle, a grossly infected arm which was bordering on developing into sepsis; blood poisoning, which at her body condition would have killed her. She had multiple bruises and scratches to her arms, legs and torso. The rape kit we ran came back with evidence of severe tearing to her vaginal walls and deep bruises to the surrounding tissue. She had a tear that required 4 stitches on the inside of her left thigh. She also needed 14 stitches to a gash on her left calf. Each of her ribs where visible through her skin, two of them were cracked, one was broken. She had a hairline fracture to her right arm and her shoulder at some point during her captivity had been strained to almost the point of dislocation, some of the ligaments in her shoulder where stretched to the point that they required surgery to rectify the damage to them. All of her fingers on her left hand were broken, some in multiple places, one of the breaks had started to heal and had to be rebroken during the same surgery to repair her shoulder."

"There were multiple tests carried out on her while she was a patient, can you give us a brief run down on some of them?"

Dr Connor leans forward again "There was a lot of them, all the tests run are in the report submitted, obviously the results are confidential. We ran tests for all sexually transmitted diseases and a majority of infections she could have picked up."

"Did you do an HIV test?"

Nodding he glances over at me "Of course."

"Was there a DNA sample collected from the rape kit?"

Dr Connor nods again "We gathered DNA from the rape kit, also from underneath her fingernails."

"And was that run through the database?"

"I don't know."

"But there is no doubt in your mind that whoever matched the DNA under her fingernails was the one who held her captive?"

Dr Connor nods again "The DNA from her nails matched the samples gathered from the rape kit so yes, there is no doubt in my mind whoever matched that sample is the person who abducted and tortured her."

Johnson stands up but stays behind his desk "How confident are you that your samples were not cross contaminated?"

The doctor snorts "The way the samples are collected there is no chance of any cross contamination, and all hospital staff have their DNA on file."

Charlotte stands up and at this point I'm confused, she never mentioned anyone else that was acting as a witness.

"My final witness is Officer Brady from the Maine State Police." The man I hadn't noticed in the back of the courtroom works his way to the front of the room, his suit far too well tailored for him to be from the tiny town of York that I'd seen once as we were leaving.

Charlotte waits while he's sworn in and settles into the chair before picking up couple of pages, handing the first page to him "That's your statement about the state that Craig Turner was in when he was arrested?"

The officer nods "It is."

"Can you read it for us?"

"Sure. Suspect was arrested while walking into the location of alleged captivity. Suspect was showing signs of having fought someone recently; he had deep scratches on one hand and his cheek. The knuckles on his right hand were bruised and there was dried blood under three of his fingernails. Other than that the suspect was in good physical condition."

"Were samples of the blood taken for analysis?"

Officer Brady nods "They were."

"And a sample of his DNA was taken as well?"

"It was, as is standard procedure in cases such as this."

"Did either of the samples match anything?"

"They both did."

"Which sample matched to what?"

Officer Brady leans forwards, his eyes drifting to mine slowly "The blood under the nails of the suspect matched the victim with an 87% accuracy. The sample we took of Mr Turner's blood was run through our DNA profile and matched two samples in the system."

"Where did those samples originate from?"

"One was from the blood collected from under the nails of Mrs Teller. The other match was to the one collected during the rape kit."

"So the defendants DNA was under Mrs Teller's nails, and in the swabs?"

The officer nods again "They were."

"No further questions."

Johnson stands up before Charlotte can even sit down "Officer Brady, the samples collected from Mrs Teller's nails, is there any way of knowing how long they had been there?"

The officer shakes his head and starts to speak but the sentence is cut off when Johnson sits down with a loud "Nothing further."

Charlotte sighs, standing up "You were saying something? There is no way of knowing how long the blood had been there?"

Brady nods "There isn't, but the victim had been in captivity for over 7 weeks, at that stage had the blood under her fingernails when she was abducted it would not have been viable for a DNA profile, likewise the semen samples that were collected would not have still been present after 7 weeks."

"And you are confident in your assessment of this?"

"I am. After 7 weeks the DNA left behind in the blood or semen would have been far too deteriorated to give a valid sample."

"How can you be sure?" Charlotte presses.

"Blood is a living thing, when you take it out of a body away from the pumping of a heart it starts to decompose. Likewise, semen contains sperm which is a living thing, which will live for a maximum of 5 days inside a human body. The semen samples taken from Mrs Teller contained live sperm which is how we were able to get a match with 99.9% probability to the defendant."

Charlotte sits back down again after excusing him from the stand and the judge looks up "Councillors, approach the bench please."

Both of the lawyers head up to the bench and the judge speaks quietly, both of them nodding before returning to their seats. The judge looks over to the jury "We're going to have closing arguments and then we'll break for lunch and you can start discussing the verdict. Fell free at any time to request any of the evidence submitted a transcript of the trial will be in the jury room for you."

The foreman nods and they all turn their attention to the two lawyers again. Charlotte looks over at Johnson who stays in his seat for a few seconds before standing up "My client is innocent of the charges he is accused of. He was out of the country at the time and the only reason I can come up with for him not being here for this is that he's aware of the amount of evidence that points to him being guilty and chose the route of being a fugitive rather than imprisoned for something he didn't do."

Charlotte stands up as Johnson sits down "I believe over the past 3 days between witness statements and the evidence submitted we have proven without the shadow of a doubt that the defendant is guilty of all the crimes he is charged with." Charlotte sits down after her simple sentence and turns her attention to the judge who dismisses the court, ordering everyone back in 90 minutes after lunch. The jury retires to the deliberation room.

Charlotte turns around again "What are we doing for lunch today?"

I shrug my fingernail in my mouth. Jax reaches up and gently pulls the offending digit away from my lips, resting the other hand over my other hand before it can make it towards my mouth.

"I don't think Sarah really wants to go anywhere?" Jax looks at me as he speaks and I nod silently.

Charlotte jumps to her feet "I'll just go see if one of the rooms is empty. Be back in a tick."

She darts out of the room before anyone can say anything and Derek picks up his phone, the call to Joe to go and pick up some food doesn't take long and as he hangs up Charlotte comes back in "Room 4 down the hall is empty. I've put the reserved sign out and there are no reporters here at the moment."

Jax leads me down the hall while I blindly follow him, my brain working through what will happen if the jury returns the wrong verdict. Jax pulls me to the back corner of the room and finally grabs my attention by kissing me hard.

Blinking out of the stupor I was in I look up at him "Hmm?"

"You back with me now?"

I shake my head and burrow into his chest "No; not really."

He chuckles slightly "Well you need to listen. Johnson was shit, if he's the best defence lawyer in the state I'd hate to see the worst. His case was dead in the water before he even finished the first day. Charlotte is convinced that the jury won't take more than a couple of hours."

I nod, my nose brushing his chest "But what happens if they find him innocent. Then I go down as being a liar."

Jax lifts one of his hands to my chin forcing me to look up at him, his eyes burning bright blue "If they find him innocent babe then they're all fucken idiots. We know you, we know you would never lie about something like this but most of all we all know that he's guilty."

I can't nod with the tight grip he has on my chin but after a second of staring into my eyes he lets go "You good now?" I nod and he smiles slightly "Gonna eat something?" Shaking my head he frowns but leads me to the table.

Charlotte comes around the table and sits beside me, patting my hand lightly as she picks up her legal pad "I'm pretty sure that all the verdicts will come back guilty."

"Pretty?" Happy leans forwards "How could they find him innocent of anything?"

Charlotte shrugs casually "Anything is possible regardless of how slam dunk we think the evidence is."

Donna frowns "So what could he possibly get off on?"

"The kidnapping isn't a certain as Sarah went willingly as confirmed by her own testimony. We did submit photos from the toll booths of Craig and Sarah driving into Maine and then Craig going through to Vermont. There's no evidence of him coming back into Maine which could count against us. The rape charges will stick like glue due to the DNA evidence on both of them. The abuse is the same."

Juice looks over "But surely they wouldn't find him guilty of that stuff and none of the kidnapping?"

Charlotte shrugs again "It depends entirely on if they believe without a shadow of a doubt that he did everything."

Derek opens the door carrying two huge bags, dropping them into the middle of the table he chuckles when Opie practically dives on them, pulling out a sandwich and smiling "These are awesome."

Looking up I stifle a giggle at Opie's mouth which is already bulging even while everyone else is still sorting through the bags. The tuna salad sandwich is pushed to Charlotte who thanks Derek for remembering which he waves his hand at in dismissal.

Jax pulls two sandwiches towards himself, nudging one towards me but I shake my head "I'm not hungry baby."

Sighing again he nods and hands me a bottle of juice "At least drink something then. I don't want you passing out on me."

Poking my tongue out at him I comply, sipping on the orange sugary drink while everyone else eats.

The bailiff appears in the door after 75 minutes announcing that while we're still on lunch the jury has come to a verdict which will be read when everyone is back in the court room.

Charlotte nods and waits till the door closes "That's slightly unusual."

"What is?" Cam says, dropping the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth.

"For a jury to deliberate while on lunch." Charlotte replies, absently packing her papers back into her briefcase. "But this whole trial has been a little odd."

"How?" This time it's Al that's asking the question and even though she's the one that asked everyone is nodding.

"Trial in absentia isn't something that's done very often. Also, that the defendant requested no time between verdict and sentence if found guilty."

"How did he do that if he hasn't been seen?" Jax says with a glance at me.

"It was done while he was still incarcerated. The motion was to include time already served, both were granted."

"So the sentence will be done today as well?" I'd been expecting to have a long delay between verdict and sentence.

Charlotte nods, snapping her briefcase closed "Precisely."

The rest of our time passes fairly slowly, each tick of the clock behind me makes my nerves become a little more frayed. Jax sets his hand on my shoulder and I jump a little "Babe relax. It's time to go back in."

I nod, dropping my half-drunk juice into the rubbish as we cross the remarkably still empty hall into the court room.

5 minutes later I'm leaning back against the seat with a stunned expression on my face. The jury had come back and announced they'd found him guilty of everything. Looking up at the judge I see she's concentrating on a page with the charges and when she finally sets her pen down she fixes her attention on Johnson.

"The defendant's motion to sentence today still stands, even with him absent from the courtroom so my sentences are as follows." She clears her throat and picks up the page "On the charge of unlawful imprisonment in the first degree I am sentencing him to the maximum sentence I can which is four years with no chance of early release. On each of the charges of rape in the first degree I sentence him to 10 years. Assault in the first degree, the sentence is 5 years per charge. The kidnapping charge which goes along with the unlawful imprisonment I am sentencing Mr Turner to 25 years with no chance of early release. Each of these sentences will be served consecutively at Rikers Island."

Johnson nods and the judge continues "A warrant for his arrest will be issued by the end of the day and if it is found that any of the defendant's family has been assisting him in remaining hidden they will face charges of aiding and abetting. Please pass that information on to them?" Johnson nods and the judge smiles "Case closed."

Johnson completely surprises me just after the judge and jury have left the room by smiling a very small smile at me, the spark in his eyes telling me that he knew he'd thrown the trial, and it was his plan. Jax nods his head once towards the silent defence lawyer as he leaves the room and I turn look at Charlotte "What does all that mean? I got lost."

She smiles hugely at me "It means that when he's found he'll be sent to Rikers, the absolutely minimum time he will spend there is 29 years, and that would only be if they overturned the rape and assault charges. The likelihood is that he'll have to serve at least ½ of each of those sentences as well so when he's found he'll be incarcerated for 40 years. And that doesn't include the fact he'll probably be charged with failing to appear."

I lean back into Jax's arm faintly aware of Derek and Charlotte still talking. Jax turns his head towards me and kisses my hair "It's over babe."

AN: Sorry if this seems really weird, this whole trial. I have never been in a court room, never been charged with anything and all the sentences I'm using I got from the web. Johnson was meant to be the best defence lawyer and he was, but he knew that Craig was guilty from the day he was hired and in the man I created in my mind he didn't want Craig on the street, but had to be seen as defending him. Seeing Craig's parents were no longer there to witness it he didn't feel the need to even pretend he cared anymore.


	66. Chapter 66

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. From about 1/3 of the way through this chapter is it X-Rated.

The weekend passes peacefully. After Happy's initial over-reaction about Derek's house, both the size and the fact that Cam had an entire wing to herself he'd settled down and accepted it with a quiet shrug. To no one's surprise I spend most of the weekend sleeping, the lack of sleep since the week started finally catching up with me. Jax fills me in each night with Abel's activities for the day, including Cam and Al when they tried to bath him in Cam's bathroom and ended up almost flooding the room.

When I wake up on Monday morning I roll over in the quiet room, Abel's still sleeping in the crib beside the bed and Jax is still snoring lightly, his arm thrown over his eyes to block out the light that's coming through the bathroom door. The silence is complete for about 10 minutes before Jax lifts his arm and looks over "What are you thinking about so intently?"

I shift and look at him "Sorry baby didn't mean to wake you up. It's not even 5 yet. Go back to sleep."

Jax shakes his head and turns onto his side to look at me "Nah I'm okay. What's on your mind though?"

I shrug lightly "I guess I'm not sure what to do now."

"Huh?"

"My oh so eloquent husband." I giggle out "Well for so long my life was revolving around this trial and the lead up to it now that it's over I'm not sure what to do with myself."

Jax pushes one of his arms under my pillow, forcing me to move over into his side so we're nose to nose. "I'll tell you what you do now." I nod and smirk at him as he smiles softly "You raise our son, you cook for me, bake for everyone, start those businesses and get Lyla so she can run the clothing place by herself. You find someone to run the ice cream store and by then I'll be ready for more kids. Then you concern yourself with filling our huge house."

I lift an eyebrow and he nods seriously which makes me giggle "And what if I'm not ready for kids then?" 

Jax shrugs slightly "You will be. It'll take at least a few years before you're confident enough in your staff."

"How do you know that?"

"Cause babe, I know you. You're not gonna blindly trust something you're working so hard on to someone that doesn't know every dotted I and crossed T."

I laugh at him and nod against his shoulder "I guess you're right."

Jax nods and pulls me closer to him, leaning his head down to kiss my nose lightly "Let me ask you a question."

I lift my eyes to his "Sure baby. What?"

"How quickly do you think Derek could get it set up for you to spend some time at a shooting range?"

I shrug "Probably an hour or two. Why?"

Jax grins at me "Cause I seem to remember making a promise that I'd take you to get nice and dirty and we never got around to it."

I start laughing and tighten my arm across his chest "Thank you Jax."

"What for?" He asks, with a lifted eyebrow.

"Making me laugh for the first time in over a week."

"It's all part of my job Darlin'. Now how bout we go put that huge shower to use, save some water and get clean."

I giggle lightly, turning my head to check on Abel who's still lying on his back with his hands by his head, sleeping soundly. Sliding out of his arms Jax pouts till I make it to the bathroom door and look at him "Are you coming or not?"

Jax is out of the bed and at my side quicker than I would have imagined possible, his footsteps entirely quiet on the floor. Pushing me backwards into the bathroom he closes the door till there's only a crack open and picks me up, my legs wrapping around his waist and his lips on mine before I can suck in a deep breath.

The pressure behind his kiss almost worries me but when he pulls back with a gasp the answers written on his face and I frown "Have I been that detached?"

Jax nods kissing me lightly "You have been not yourself, which we were all expecting so don't go apologising. No one expects it. I'm glad you're back to normal, and I know everyone else will be as well."

I slide my arms tighter around his neck and rest my head on his shoulder "I'm sorry baby."

Jax laughs "What did I just say about apologising?"

"To not to." I reply with a smile "Sorry."

Shaking his head he sets me onto the bench and lifts his hands, pulling my wrists away from his neck "You stay right there."

Jax crosses the room and opens the shower door, while this shower isn't as huge as the one at home it's still got multiple heads that start gushing water as Jax turns the handles, sticking his hand under the main stream until he's satisfied and turns back around. "Fuck." He groans low in his throat.

Blinking at him innocently he stands still for what seems like minutes while I swing my legs off the edge of the bench. "I love you Jax but my ass is getting cold here."

Jax shakes his head and steps towards, kicking my shirt to one side from where it landed in a pool at my feet and shoving his boxers down his legs, I bite my lip lightly as he stalks towards me in the enclosed space, his cock swelling and twitching as he takes in my naked skin, the shirt of his that I'd slept in had been the only thing I was wearing and while he'd been playing with the controls I'd used the seconds to strip it off and drop it to the floor.

"You know I have to say as much as I love seeing you in my clothes, I love seeing you out of them more." I do giggle at that as he steps into the gap created when he pushes my thighs apart with his palms. "But I seem to remember telling you not to move."

I shrug, my hands trailing up his arms, one tangling in the hair at the base of his neck and the other wrapping around his bicep "You did. Would you like me to get dressed again?"

"Oh hell no."

Wrapping his arms around my waist he lifts me up and carries me towards the shower where steam is now filling the space "I have missed you babe." He says softly, before pressing his lips to mine, proving with his mouth just how much his words are true.

His tongue caresses my own slowly, the feeling of the warm water hitting my back and running over my shoulders barely registers with the need that he's pouring into our kiss, the heat in my body grows with each teasing brush of his tongue and stroke of his fingers down my spine. My hair plasters to my back within seconds and he brushes the ends to the side to continue the slow delicate touch over the skin of my lower back.

Setting me on my feet he finally pulls his mouth from mine and blinks his eyes open, the swirling desire in them hijacking my train of thought that was already in the midst of derailing. I'm unable to voice what my desire, my need to have him around me, within me but with barely a flicker of movement he lifts me up again, his cock sliding between us and settling right where the burning desire is the hottest.

A slight twitch of my hips and he's buried inside my body and even his mouth against mine isn't enough to completely mute the moan of pleasure that comes from my lungs. It seems strange to me that within a couple of movements of his body my muscles are contracting around him as the knot of pleasure winds tighter in my belly. He continues to steal my exhalations until I'm almost panting through my nose and he pulls his lips from mine, fastening them to my neck instead while I suck deep breaths in through my mouth.

His teeth brush my collar bone as he trails a line of kisses down my throat before pulling back and looking straight at me. "Let go babe."

My body falls apart at his command, with or without his 'order' I knew it would happen, the twitching tightening of my body could only so far before it would snap but the look in his eyes had been what pushed me over the edge.

As my heartbeat returns to normal I open my eyes, the lights flickering behind my eyelids finally giving way to normal vision. The almost pained expression on Jax's face makes me frown until I move slightly in his arms and realise that he's still hot and hard within my body. "Oops." I mutter with a snicker.

Shaking his head he pulls away from me slightly, then back forwards, making long slow movements of his body that make my muscles twitch in overstimulation. "Not oops." He does something with his body that makes his cock jump within me and my head falls back against the shower wall with a muffled thump making him pull me away from the wall and still his movements "Sarah, are you okay?"

I nod, slowly opening my eyes again "Do that again."

Jax smirks and presses me tighter against the wall, the water running between us making our body slick against each other whatever muscle group he's exercising control over makes his length move inside me again, sending the same shot of heat through my body to the tips of my fingers and toes. I can feel the heat in my face increasing and wonder with the small part of my brain that still able of making coherent thoughts if the water that would hit my skin would turn to steam.

The combination of Jax twitching and moving at the same time narrows my entire consciousness to two points, where he's moving within my body and where his hand is still pressed to the base of my spine, his fingers digging into my skin tightly, using his hold to keep me in place.

Dropping his mouth to the crook of my neck his tongue slides over the top of my collarbone, collecting the drops of water that gathered there, sliding his tongue up the side of my neck he stops when his mouth is by my ear and nips lightly at my earlobe, catching one of the rings between his teeth and pulling it very lightly. The release of the pressure when he opens his mouth makes me gasp again and while my mouth is open his tongue invades again, thrusting with the same rhythm as his hips his breath comes in short bursts across my cheekbones till he pulls his head back with a suddenness that leaves me wondering if he's okay, but his head drops backwards as he groans, my name reaching my ears as he completely stills panting loudly.

Setting me back on my feet my legs are pressed against his thighs, my breasts pressed to his chest. He doesn't seem in any hurry to part, his arms staying around my waists, his hands settled on my hips where he occasionally rubs his fingertips lightly over my skin. Minutes later we finally move apart to actually get clean.

*There is a line in here from one of my favourite movies that doesn't have Charlie in it…bonus points for anyone who can spot it, tell me who said it, who it was said to and who/what it was about.*


	67. Chapter 67

CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Jax looks as sad as I feel when Derek is unable to sort time at any range for us, his reasoning of his 'gun guy' being out of town makes sense but doesn't lessen the disappointment, until he casually mentions that Saturday night we're going to a dinner that his company is throwing. Cam bounces in her seat in excitement and I sigh already knowing what's going to come out of her mouth.

"Shopping trip! Yay!" She calls with a huge smile, the smile widening further than I thought possible when Derek nods and announces cause he surprised us with it all the whole thing is going to be at his cost.

Juice chuckles "I'm guessing this isn't a jeans and shirt kinda thing?"

Derek shakes his head "Sorry son but no. It's a suit and tie sort of thing."

Happy snorts but agrees with a nod when Cam turns her huge eyes towards Happy with a sad face. None of the other guys say a word after Happy narrows a glare at them, each nodding in agreement with the hunt for clothes set to be done the following day.

Opie and Jax both look at me but its Opie that opens his mouth "Can't we just use the measurements from the last one and save all that...groping."

I snicker as Derek turns to look at him "Groping?"

"Yeah, with the measuring tape and the hands and the uncomfortable feeling."

Derek laughs "You mean the tailor taking your measurements. Yes, we can use the ones from your last suits if you wish."

Jax and Opie both nod enthusiastically, leaning back in their chairs happily till Juice lifts an eyebrow "But you'll come with us cause you'll have to make sure that we don't pick bright pink shirts and blue suits."

Jax and Opie share a glance while the rest of us burst out laughing. Donna leans forwards and looks at Juice "You know I think that Ope would look good in a green suit with a purple shirt actually."

Opie and Jax both hold their hands up in surrender "Okay, okay. We'll come." Jax says with a sigh "At least that means I won't end up in an orange suit with a red shirt."

I nod with a giggle "Though, red shirt is still entirely possible."

Jax shakes his head "No way. Not happening." Not sure what I'm gonna do with two suits. Don't suppose I could get Ma to send me the one from home?"

I snicker "You could try, but I don't know that it would arrive in four days and be wearable."

Jax sighs, a huge shoulder heaving sigh that makes it seem like I've asked him to trade his Harley for a minivan and I can't stop giggling at the thought.

Donna looks over after my giggles last past a minute, lifting her eyebrows "Wanna share?"

I snort around a giggle and nod "I was just picturing Jax, kutte and all driving a minivan."

Jax shudders and the other Sons around the table almost mimic his movement while the girls burst out laughing. Derek and Trish look on in silence, confused smiles pulling at their mouths like they'd like to laugh but don't quite get the joke.

Jax grumbles out a semi understandable reason of his dislike of mini-vans, explaining that when they all went through Driver's Ed one of the cars was a shitty mini-van and he always ended up with it, by the time he got his licence he swore and declared that if he ever drove a mini-van again he'd do it in heels and a skirt.

Derek and Trish exchange a glance before both bursting into laughter, the fact that his explanation has made his brothers laugh as well doesn't go down well and he pouts for five minutes until he starts laughing when Abel throws his (thankfully) empty bowl in the air and it lands on Opie's head.

While we're all sitting around the table Cam mentions wanting to use the plane to go to the Harley museum in Wisconsin. Derek agrees with the veto power that he'll have to make sure no one else needs the plane first. While it's primarily Derek's plane the managers from each state have the right to request the use of it for business related trips. Cam nods happily, turning to Al and turning their conversation back to the dinner that we're all going to end up at in the weekend. Her mention of 10 courses makes all the guys look up from their breakfasts with frowns.

"How the fu...dge do you eat 10 courses?" Juice asks, his work changing mid-sentence when Donna shoots a pointed glance to her side where the twins are sitting eating their waffles.

Derek looks over to me and waves his hand for me to explain. "Each course is really small and the whole meal takes several hours. The first course is normally finger foods. Given this is 10 courses I'd say they'll be doing a couple of variations. Who's catering?'

Derek grins "I borrowed Graham for the night. He put together a team of mostly still trainees from ICE. Something about this giving them good experience."

I nod with a laugh "Yeah it will be."

"Ice?" Donna says with a slight confused look.

"Yep. The Institute of Culinary Education, it's where I trained. So, as I was saying, first course will be finger foods. Graham likes to go simple with the smaller things, basil and tomato bruschetta or vol au vent are his two favourites."

"What and who?" Juice says with a really confused look.

I laugh and roll my eyes "Bruschetta is toasted bread Vol au vent are little pastry cases, he and I used to do two versions, one with broccoli florets and a white sauce and one with a cheese and onion filling. Now, if I can finish. Then there'll be a clear soup. Then some sort of fish course. I'm guessing salmon of some type. Then there's a chicken dish, if I know Graham it'll be something simple like chicken baked with lemon and dill."

I pause and sip my coffee thinking through some of the standard menu's we'd done in the past "The fifth course will be the fanciest of them all normally, which will be fillet mignon with minimal veges, like 2 baby carrots and half a potato which I know you'll all look at and thing you're being starved but you'll be stuffed by the end. The sixth course isn't really food, it's a chance to let what you've already eaten digest and it'll be a drink, normally non-alcoholic when we did them." I look over at Derek and he nods "Seventh will be a roast, we used to alternate between lamb, pork or quail depending what was the best, at the moment I'd hazard a guess that it'll be lamb. Eight is a salad, if I could suggest something to Graham for that one I'd go with asparagus and prosciutto."

"What?" Juice interrupts again "is prosciutto?"

I shake my head "It's really amazing bacon basically. Ninth would be a pate course, or foie gras, but neither of us liked that at all, neither the taste, texture or how it's done. And the tenth course is the dessert course, that's where the huge variety comes in. Because we both did pastry courses I'd say there would be at least 5 different dessert options."

Glancing over at Derek "What are we raising money for this time?"

"Children's hospital." He replies with a grin. "And I have a copy of the menu and it's almost exactly like you'd said, bar a couple of things."

I grin at him "Can I have a look?"

He nods "Course. Trish, dear, did you bring it home from the office?"

Trish rolls her eyes towards me "I did, it's in the top draw of the filing cabinet if you need to look now, but I would suggest shopping today is a good idea, so that it's out of the way."

I shake my head "Jax and I can't, and Derek can I use one of the cars? We have to go see Patrick."

Derek nods, opening his mouth "Not the…"

"…Audi, I know. I thought we'd use the new Cobra." I reply with a smirk at him when his eyes widen to saucers. I hold my breath for 10 seconds before laughing "No, seriously though I thought we'd just use one of the Suburban's, seeing it's already got the car seat base in it for Abel."

Derek tries to hide the huge sigh of relief and fails miserably when everyone laughs at him.

AN: Movie quote from last chapter was 'to not to'. Mater says it in Cars which is my favourite animated movie ever.


End file.
